energy
GE presents the nacelle of its Haliade-X 12 MW, the world's most powerful wind turbine
GE Renewable Energy has presented a few days ago the first nacelle that will be sent from France to the Netherlands in the coming weeks, where its components will be assembled in the Haliade-X 12 MW prototype to be tested there.
This initial phase is designed to allow GE Renewable Energy to obtain the necessary data to receive its type of certification, a key component before marketing the product in 2021.
«The presentation of the first 12 MW Haliade-X gondola in Saint-Nazaire is the beginning of a new key phase in our ongoing commitment to structure the offshore wind turbine segment. This project clearly reflects our ability to invest and innovate, supporting our clients in an ultra-competitive market in exponential growth. Thanks to Haliade-X 12 MW, we are proud to prepare for the future of the marine wind industry in Saint-Nazaire, a reference site for the production of international offshore wind projects», said Jérôme Pécresse, CEO of GE Renewable Energy.
The Saint-Nazaire production plant manufactures marine wind turbine generators and gondolas and has already assembled more than 80 Haliade 150-6MW wind turbines since its opening in December 2014.
The market-leading 12 MW Haliade-X gondola and 107 meter long blades will allow GE Renewable Energy customers to generate more energy. With a rotor of 220 m and a height of 260 m, the turbine can generate 67 GWh in annual gross energy, providing enough clean energy to power 16,000 European homes and save up to 42 million metric tons of CO2, which is the equivalent of emissions generated by 9,000 vehicles in a single year.
CRYPTOCURRENCIES PROPELLED BY WIND ENERGY POWER
CRYPTOCURRENCIES PROPELLED BY WIND ENERGY POWER
It is undeniable that cryptocurrencies markets have experienced a rampant growth in the last few years. It is not surprising therefore that crypto mining has become an activity highly dependent on energy, which is required to carry out calculations needed to verify transactions.
Enel SpA, which is considered Europe’s largest utility, has recently engaged in negotiations to sell power mainly from wind, solar and other renewable energy plants to the well-known Swiss cryptocurrency company Envion AG. The discussions are part of a broader effort by Enel to evaluate the market for selling electricity to miners of bitcoin, etherium, ripple and other digital currencies, who are in great need of large amounts of energy to perform calculations needed to verify transactions.
According to a report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, power demand for mining bitcoin went up to about 20.5 TWh/year by the end of 2017. The global industry’s power use already equals that of 3 million U.S. homes. As more bitcoins are created, the need for electricity increases.
That’s the reason what companies like Enel, are taking the lead to seek cryptocurrency miners that could become key customers to buy excess capacity from wind, solar and hydro-electric generating plants.
Enel is especially interested in understanding how the energy business can benefit from the blockchain technology, in an attempt to encourage cryptocurrency miners to move their facilities to places where electricity is cheap, building up new clusters that could result in mutual benefit.
Envion has raised $100 million though a month-long crowdfunding campaign to build a network of portable digital currency mining units designed to plug directly into wind farms, solar farms and other clean-energy installations. Envion says the technology will allow it to move operations to wherever energy is cheapest.
Envion is evaluating locations to start installing its systems and is in talks with power generators around the world, Laurent Martin, the company’s director of investor relations, said in an interview.
Envion’s business is not only attractive to our many investors, but also to utilities around the world.
Renewables Gain Ground Over Coal in Europe
According to the estimated data for the year 2017 that have been published today, renewable energy sources generated more electricity than coal for the first time. The sum of wind, solar and biomass generation provided 679 terawatts per hour compared to 669 terawatts per hour.
Even though It might seem like a small victory, we mustn'forget that five years ago, coal doubled the production of renewables on the continent. Something is changing in Europe and, despite all the problems, it seems that the future is less black and greener than five years ago.
Although CO2 emissions increased slightly between 2016 and 2017, this change gives us a global overview of the structural changes that are taking place in Europe. Yes, countries like Poland or the Czech Republic continue to consume coal as if there were no tomorrow. But during the past year, countries such as the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal initiated active policies to eliminate the energy produced by coal in the coming years.
For its part, Spain increased its coal consumption during 2017. This is, in part, a short-term problem associated with drought and lack of wind. But it is also true that the Government does not seem to be willing to change it. The same Álvaro Nadal, energy minister, has already expressed his rejection of the closure of coal plants a few months ago.
Of course, the growth of renewables is quite irregular. Germany and the United Kingdom account for 56% percent of the renewable enery growth in the last three years (whose emissions, it is worth remembering, collapsed to levels of 120 years ago).
Source. https://www.xataka.com/energia/las-renovables-han-superado-por-primera-vez-al-carbon-en-europa
EDF to Supply 200 MW of Wind Power to Google
EDF Renewable Energy, the american company based in California, has signed an agreement by which it will supply 200MWs of wind power to Google, generated from the new Glaciers Edge Wind Project (GEWP) in Iowa.
GEWP, that is located in Cherokee County in the northwest, is expected to contribute to create more than 150 jobs during the construction phase along with millions of dollars injected into the local economy. Once the wind farm comes online, the additional capacity will help Google achieve its goal of matching its energy consumption for global operations to the renewable energy generated.
According to Dai Owen, who is the EDF RE's Power Marketing Director, “The strong U.S. wind market relies in part on America’s corporate sector and companies like Google, who through the purchase of wind energy demonstrate leadership in the drive for a low-carbon economy,” and also added that “Their commitment allows Glaciers Edge to proceed, providing an economic boost to the Iowa economy, through new construction and operations jobs, expanded tax base, and recurring, long-term income for participating landowners.”
Not only will this project contribute to bring value to the company's business portfolio but also a huge economic boost to the communities where they oporate. Consequently, the transition to clean energy is guaranteed due to the continuous decrease in cost of solar and wind energies, which in turn is driving unprecedented economic opportunity faster than we ever anticipated.
Ever since Google teamed up with EDF RE in 2012, Google has made an approximate $200 million equity investment in EDF RE’s Spinning Spur Wind Project, Texas. The business partnership progressed in 2016 with the power purchase agreement for the Great Western Wind Project in Oklahoma which supplies Google with 225 MW of clean electricity.
EDF RE is a leading manufacturer in the renewables field which emphasises the reliability that environmentally-conscious companies place in EDF RE to deliver value. The Company’s growing North America portfolio of corporate purchasers includes Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, Walmart, Salesforce, Procter & Gamble, and Kimberly-Clark.
Source. http://www.windpowerengineering.com/business-news-projects/edf-supply-200-mw-wind-power-google/
Vestas Extends its Reach into the Russian Market
The Danish company will set up its first blade production plant for wind turbines in Russia, after being signed the agreement on September 7th by Sergey Morozov, Sergey Nikolayevich Vasin, and Tommy Rahbek Nielsen, which are the Governor of the Ulyanovsk region, General director of the Ulyanovsk Region Development Corporation and Senior Vice President of Vestas, respectively.
According to Mr. Nielsen, “wind industry has a huge potential in Russia”, reported the business media Delovoye Obozrenie.
Vestas, which is considered the largest turbine producer all over the world, will invest around USD 24 million (RUB 1.4 billion) in the project, revealed the Kommersant. With this move the Danish firms intends to maximize the localization of components production, while obtaining the legal status of a Russian producer, giving the right to participate in public programs.
Acording to Tommy Rhabek Nielsen, Vestas will comply with the Russian policy of reaching a 65% level of localization or even more, provided that needed suppliers can be found on the Russian market.
The manufacture facilities will be located in the Zavolzhskiy district of Ulyanovsk. Its construction is expected to take place in the short term and will be completed by the middle of 2019. Vestas is expected to reach the production capacity of 300 blades yearly, that in turn will result in the creation of 200 new jobs.
Source. https://eurasianetwork.eu/2017/09/23/danish-vestas-will-build-its-first-blade-factory-in-russia/
Dutch Electric Trains Get 100% Powered by Wind Energy
According to the national railway company NS, its renewables goal had been met a year earlier than planned, since from the 1st of January, 100% of its trains are running on wind energy”.
Dutch electricity company Eneco won a tender offered by NS two years ago and the two companies signed a 10-year deal setting January 2018 as the date by which all NS trains should run on wind energy.
The fact that it is been an increase in the nomber of wind farms across the contry and off the coast of the Netherlands had helped achieve its aim a year earlier than planned.
This fact makes the Netherlands the first country in the world to have around 600,000 passengers daily that travel propelled by wind energy. Overall, the NS operates about 5,500 train trips a day.
So as to allow you to have an idea of what it is like, one windmill running for an hour is able to power a train for 120 miles, the companies said. However, they hope to reduce the energy used per passenger by a further 35% by 2020 compared with 2005.
Source. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/10/dutch-trains-100-percent-wind-powered-ns
Amazon Texas project goes online
According to the internet giant, the 100-turbine Amazon Wind Farm Texas in Scurry County is the company’s 18th wind or solar project.
This project is owned and developed by Lincoln Clean Energy, and gathers 110 of GE’s turbines and provides US storage and information management services company Iron Mountain with 25.3MW of power, with the remainder going to Jeff Bezos’ firm.
The PPA would allow Amazon to achieve its long-term goal of powering its global infrastructure with 100% renewable energy, according to the firm.
The idea is that Amazon’s 227.7MW portion from the site will power one of its data centres for the company’s cloud computing arms.
Amazon's worldwide director of sustainability, Hara Hurst mentioned in an interview held in Texas that "Investing in renewable energy is a win-win-win-win — it’s right for our customers, our communities, our business, and our planet". In fact, they now have 18 wind and solar projects across the US with more than 35 projects to come.
Amazon also buys power from a 208MW project in North Carolina, 100.8MW site in Ohio and 150MW wind farm in Indiana, according to Windpower Intelligence, the research and data division of Windpower Monthly.
Source: http://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1447901/amazon-texas-project-goes-online
Citigroup and Morgan Stanley go for Wind Energy
Citigroup, which is considered the largest financial service company in the world, and Morgan Standly, the New York-based financial bank, have recently made official their comittment to running 100 percent on wind and solar energy, as a way of standing up against U.S. energy policies.
Ever since the U.S. vowed to pull the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris Agreement, there's been a manifest escalade of corporate support from Standley and City, which aim for their operations to be carbon-neutral by 2022 and 2030, respectively.
Both banks also are joining RE100, an initiative that brings together more than 100 large companies that are working towards running on clean energy by signing deals to buy electricity from renewable-power generators. Other members include HSBC Holdings Plc, Bank of America corp, Swiss Re AG and Apple Inc, which reached 93 percent clean-energy use in 2015.