Wind Energy Planning

EDF Drops Olympic Wind Turbine Bid

French owned electricity supply and generation company EDF decided not to bid for the London Olympic wind turbine project according to the London Evening Standard yesterday.

The nuclear giant EDF say that there is not enough wind to justify building the £2 million ($3.2m) turbine at the site close to London’s Hackney Marshes. Instead they have suggested installing one on the south coast at Weymouth – close to the Olympic sailing venue.

The Olympic Delivery Authority have however accepted a proposal from electricity supply rival company Ecotricity who says that there is enough wind for the wind turbine to be viable. Ecotricity openly criticised EDF last year for ’stealing’ its green union jack logo and using it to make them appear green, renewable and British.

Using Social Media for Wind Energy Projects

People and companies are realising the potential opportunities offered by social networking sites when promoting or consulting on new projects according to PlanningBlog.

Mark Wilding asked planners what they thought of using social media as a tool for planning application consultation and although a note of caution was urged with regard to the ability of these tools to contain detail, most respondents agreed there is great potential to engage people who do not usually get involved with planning issues. That is, if IT managers would lift restrictions on the use of social network sites (particularly common within local authorities and large companies).

Two examples of social network sites currently dedicated to wind energy are the facebook sites “Yes to Wind Turbines at Spaldington & Holme on Spalding Moor” and “I want a wind farm in my back yard because I’m not an idiot”.

The former is an example of a dedicated project support group set up by the neighbour of two proposed wind farms near Spaldington – the membership is now up to 144. There are links to the project websites and information about who members can e-mail and write to in order to express their views. The latter sprung up further to the closure of the Vestas wind turbine factory on the Isle of Wight and now has over 36,500 members. This membership reflects numerous public opinion surveys which time after time demonstrate that although not shouting the loudest, the majority of people support wind energy.

New £15m Wind Turbine Test Facility Planned for Blyth, UK

A new wind turbine blade test facility is planned for Blyth in the north east of England it was announced by R& D company Nirec today.

The £15 million ($24m) facility will test new turbine blade designs before they are used in offshore wind farms. The wind turbine blades to be tested will be up to 100 metres in length.

Narec are providers of R&D, consultancy, test and demonstration facilities for the renewable energy sector. The blade test centre will be the biggest of its type in the world, expanding the existing testing capability developed over the last five years at Blyth.

The expansion of the centre is being funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Department for Energy and Climate Change (£11.5m / $19m) and Regional Development Agency One North East (£3.5m/ $5.7m).

Small Wind Turbine Market Expands

With fixed prices for electricity generated by small scale renewable energy on their way, are we likely to see a better range of domestic wind turbine models on the market soon?

Over the past ten years there has been a limited range of domestic scale wind turbines on the market, with disaster striking with the B&Q cheap (and ineffective) rooftop turbine. This Youtube video shows a Danish householder with a reasonable plot of land using what appears to be a much more effective stand alone Gaia wind turbine.

The turbine has a peak rated output of 11kW and is described by the manufacturer as suitable for farms, large residences, offices, small businesses and public buildings where the main aim is to reduce the amount of electricity imported. In the right locations exporting electricity is also possible. The turbine has been designed to give an optimum yield in moderate wind speeds which the manufacturer specifies as a range of between 4.5-7.5 m/s (10-12mph).

Framework Deal for Repower Wind Turbines Signed

It was announced this week that German wind turbine manufacturer Repower signed a deal with French utility EDF for the supply of wind turbines for five wind farms in Canada.

The framework agreement is for the supply of turbines totalling a capacity of 954 Megawatts for wind farms in Quebec, developed by Saint-Laurent Energies, a company part owned by EDF.

With a shortage of wind turbine supply across the globe still causing the wind energy industry problems, companies are seeking out framework deals with turbine manufacturers, sometimes even before they have planning consent. Framework deals have the benefit of providing more certainty, especially for financially marginal projects – even if overall the wind farm operator does not make significant savings.

Although there were 35 new Chinese wind turbine manufacturers entering the market last year, it will be some time until these turbines have been tested and proven in the European, US and Canadian marketplace. With the offshore wind energy market set to expand at unprecedented rates over the next few years, it seems that the global turbine supply shortage will not be remedied quickly.

NREL Installs Siemens Wind Turbine

The US energy department DOE has installed a new wind turbine on its premises near Boulder, Colorado.

The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has commissioned the 2.3 megawatt turbine on its National Technology Center site as part of an R&D project with Siemens.

The wind turbine has been commissioned in order to allow detailed investigations and monitoring – in what has been described as the biggest government-industry research partnership for wind energy generation ever undertaken in the U.S.

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Market Continues to Expand

Vertical axis wind turbines appear to be flavour of the year when it comes to small wind turbines. In the UK, supermarket giant Tesco has installed several “Ropatec” vertical axis wind turbines with a rated capacity of 6kW.

The latest vertical axis turbine model to come into the test arena is the new Blackhawk Tilt Rotor Wind Turbine. The turbine is being tested and monitored by researchers from the Blackhawk Project LLC at Idaho’s National Laboratory Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES).

British Aviation and Wind Industry Contract Signed

A contract between the Department of Energy and Climate Change, The Crown Estate, NATS and the wind industry’s Aviation Investment Fund Company was signed this week.

The contract is aimed at solving the problem of aviation radar interference from wind turbines and includes financing worth £5.15 million towards a solution via new technology being developed by Raytheon.

According to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, ED Miliband, objections from the aviation industry are one of the key reasons UK wind energy applications are either being refused or withdrawn.

UK Back on the Green Energy Investment Track

After the PR disaster of the Vestas factory closure on the Isle of Wight, the UK Prime Minister is looking to reel in another wind turbine manufacturer and step up investment to get the country back on the green manufacturing track.

The Guardian’s Terry Macalister reported yesterday that PM Gordon Brown wants Siemens to open a factory in the UK as soon as possible. The move would provide a renewable energy manufacturing base and green collar jobs. The goverment is desperate to secure economic benefits from its huge potential wind energy market.

According to the Guardian, the prime minister will meet CEO of Siemens, Peter Löscher to provide some certainty and comfort on the delivery of a large scale offshore wind energy market. This lack of confidence in wind energy market growth was what led to the Vestas decision to abandon the UK.

A Siemens offshore wind representative said that the company will be closely watching what comes out of the Crown Estate’s Round 3 offshore wind farm license announcements which are imminent.

Death at Scottish Wind Farm Site

The BBC reported today that a contractor has died at a wind farm at the north eastern tip of Scotland.

The incident happened whilst the contractor was carrying out routine maintenance work at Causeymire Wind Farm near Thurso. Emergency services rushed to the wind farm site just off the A9 at approximately 9am this morning

Council Leaders Hit Back at Prescott on Wind Energy

The leaders of East Riding and the Isle of Wight Councils have responded angrily to comments made by John Prescott about UK wind farm decision making last week.

At the first ‘Age of Stupid awards’ the former Deputy Prime Minister spoke out against people who oppose wind turbines being constructed near their homes and the planning committees who take action in response to their lobbying. Prescott is concerned about the number of recent decisions to refuse permission for new projects to generate renewable energy “Stupid planning committee in Bedford, stupid planning committee in the Isle of Wight – I hope they get upset about it. We have to counteract the NIMBYs who say they want change but not in their backyard.”

Despite the East Riding of Yorkshire being well positioned for wind energy, Councillors have refused a number of the wind farms proposals in their area. Council Leader Stephen Parnaby said “I think Mr Prescott’s comments are a bit rich. “It’s typical of this Government backing off from its responsibilities…the energy of the country should be dealt with at a national level and the blame should not be passed on to local authorities.”

Oxford Proposes City Wind Turbine

A recent wind turbine proposal for the city of Oxford has sparked up the debate about where it is appropriate to locate wind turbines.

The proposal between Cowley works and Horsepath was announced last week by Oxford City Council and renewable energy developer Partnership for Renewables.

Oxford City Council say the site is capable of hosting a single commercial wind turbine. Local Councillor John Tanner said: “Wind turbines are a beautiful way of helping to tackle climate change with renewable energy. This Horspath site is a first for Oxford and a practical contribution to creating a low carbon city.

Ministers say Wind Energy Developers Should Buy UK Planning Consents

The UK Government’s ‘new’ idea to try and combat wind farm NIMBYISM is to get wind farm developers to give local communities cash, according to the Times this week.

The reality is however that payments are already being offered to communities by wind energy companies on a voluntary basis. The introduction of a formal system of payments is in itself therefore, unlikely to lead to the desired plethora of delivered renewable energy projects.

Planning problems have been cited as the key constraint holding back British onshore wind energy projects with wind turbine manfucturer Vestas blaming NIMBYS (not in my back yard) for its recent decision to close Britain’s only wind turbine manufacturing plant, on the Isle of Wight. A Vestas spokesperson described Britain’s approach as “like being in Saudi Arabia and not drilling for oil”. In response Ministers are considering whether to establish a “conservation bank” which they say will overcome planning objections to wind farms and other renewable-energy projects.

2009 Forecast Promising for European Wind Energy

Europe’s wind energy trade association has revealed new research showing that the wind farm industry has weathered the financial climate successfully over the last year.

The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) says that 8,600 Megawatts (MW) of new wind energy capacity will be installed in the European Union countries during 2009. Assuming each turbine is rated 2MW capacity this means an additional circa 4,300 wind turbines generating green electricity across Europe.

Wind Turbine Manufacturer Blames Nimbys for Factory Closure

The Vice President of Vestas wind turbines told the UK today that despite having some of the best onshore wind sites on the planet, green energy proposals are being thwarted by Nimbys.

In an interview on BBC’s ‘The Report’, Vestas’ VP Peter Kruse said the UK’s limited wind energy market is a problem for wind turbine manufacturers. Kruse said “Don’t blame London, because your government is doing a lot, but if people do not want turbines locally then you can put as many incentives as you want on the table.”

The Vestas factory on the Isle of White is heading for closure and the company is blaming poor demand for wind turbines, mainly due to local planning problems.

Energy Savings Trust Seeking Green Community Heroes

The Energy Savings Trust is seeking the UK’s Green Community Heroes this year to celebrate the UK’s most inspiring green community projects.

The green awards are aimed at saluting those individuals and groups who have strived to combat climate change by reducing thier community’s energy or by generating clean energy for their community.

The Energy Savings Trust is offering national recognition with a feature in Society Guardian. It says this will help the community with future promotion and bid requests. The categories include Best Rural Community Project, Best Urban Community Project, Most Innovative Project and Outstanding Contribution by An Individual. From street by street home insulation projects to community wind turbines and education about climate change, the Energy Savings Trust want to hear about it.

Wind Farm Opponents Promote Inaccuracies and Lies Says BWEA Chief

Chief Exec of the British Wind Energy Association has accused wind farm opponents of peddling a series of inaccuracies, half-truths and lies.

The Independent on Sunday published the interview with McAffery after the wider press ran with a story about the recently invented phrase ‘Wind Turbine Syndrome’ last week.

McAffery pointed to a 2004 World Health Organisation report which showed that wind power was one of the most benign forms of electrical generation in terms of direct and indirect health effects. Her frustration is apparent as she says “despite this wealth of scientific evidence, the myth persists that wind energy is harmful…”

Second Call for Offshore Wind Demo Projects

The UK Government announced its Second Call for offshore wind energy demonstration projects today. The Second Call has, according to the Government a value of £10 million (US $16.4m) ring fenced for the deployment of offshore wind.

The Offshore Wind Demonstration Call is being administered through Solutions for Business, a Government support vehicle for new products. The aim of the funding is to stimulate and encourage the development and demonstration of offshore wind technologies and components for larger multi-megawatt wind turbines.

The UK Government desperately wants the wind farms in UK waters within the 2020 timeframe to meet its climate change commitments. Bids must be received by 28 August 2009. Application forms, guidance notes and the call for proposals are on the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) website.

Community supports Westmills Wind Farm

Westmills wind farm is officially popular with its local community according to a recent report by the BBC. Westmills is the first 100% community owned wind energy project in the south of England and provides for the needs of around 2500 homes.

The five turbine wind farm is located within half a mile of the village of Westmills in South Oxfordshire, England. The turbines started generating electricity in February of last year after a long planning haul patiently negotiated by landowner Adam Twine. More than 200 local people bought into the wind farm co-operative and now receive a financial return on their investment.

Wind Turbine Company Court Hearing Adjourned

A wind turbine company whose staff are currently illegally occupying a factory failed to secure permission to remove the workers today.

Between 13 and 25 workers are involved in the demonstration at the Vestas factory on the Isle of White which is now into its 9th day. The protest is against the closure of the factory by Danish company Vestas who blame low demand for wind turbines in the UK.

Today, the Danish wind turbine manufacturer’s lawyers sought a possession order from Newport County Court to allow them to appoint bailiffs to remove the workers. However because the proper notices had not been served against the 25 occupiers, the hearing has now been adjourned until Tuesday 4 August. The lawyer acting for Vestas admitted that the company had not served individual notices on those who had locked themselves inside the factory. A crowd of 200 attended the court hearing in support of the protestors.