SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

   Gold/Mining/EnergyWind Power


Previous 10 Next 10 
From: Savant5/22/2024 10:19:47 AM
   of 971
 
Tornado vs Wind Turbines...Accuweather has video of major damage to wind farm in central US

Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read


From: Eric5/24/2024 2:11:28 PM
   of 971
 
Pioneering and repriced offshore wind farm gets final approval in New York



Joshua S Hill

May 24, 2024

0

Share via Email

Renewables
Wind


New York State has granted the 810MW Empire Wind offshore project its final approval, authorising the project to begin construction, nearly five years after it was selected in the state’s first offshore wind tender.

It has been a long and at times uncertain road for Empire Wind since winning the contract in mid-2019, with the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine combining to send costs soaring to the point where original developers BP and Equinor – along with Danish wind energy giant Ørsted – questioned the project’s viability.

The consortium of companies ultimately sought to renegotiate the contract for Empire wind, with the original version no longer able to cover the cost of building and financing projects due to rising inflation and shifting material costs.

The bid to adjust the prices for power generation was rejected the New York State Public Service Commission (NYSPSC) in October 2023, a decision affecting not only Empire Wind, but also the Beacon Wind offshore wind farm and Ørsted’s 880MW Sunrise Wind project.

Ørsted similarly withdrew from the Maryland Public Service Commission orders approving the 966MW Skipjack Wind project earlier this year, explaining that the original power sales contract was “no longer commercially viable because of today’s challenging market conditions, including inflation, high interest rates and supply chain constraints.”

Things began to look up in March, however, after New York State governor Kathy Hochul awarded new contracts worth just over $US150 per megawatt-hour – almost double the original strike price – for Empire Wind and the 924MW Sunrise Wind being jointly developed by Ørsted and Eversource.

The contracts were awarded as part of a fourth renewable energy auction which gave companies a chance to rebid their projects and replace existing projects.

With these updated contracts in place, progress has moved swiftly, and the NYSPSC has now granted Empire Offshore Wind its final approval to begin construction on Empire Wind I.

The NYSPSC awarded Empire Wind its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) late last week, which authorises the construction and operation of transmission facilities for the delivery of electricity into New York from the 810MW offshore wind farm.

“Our decision today provides the last remaining approval before construction can begin on this offshore wind project, which is a high priority for the State given that it will advance the State’s renewable and clean energy goals in compliance with the Climate Act,” said Rory M. Christian, Public Service Commission chair.

“It is critical that construction begin in early May for the developer to keep the construction schedule on track and achieve the anticipated commercial operation date.”

Share on Twitter
hare on Facebook
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn
Share on Reddit

reneweconomy.com.au

Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read


From: Eric5/24/2024 3:27:56 PM
   of 971
 
Green Energy
Electrek Green Energy Brief
EGEB
Offshore wind power
wind turbine

The US’s largest offshore wind farm just got its first monopile



Michelle Lewis | May 23 2024 - 11:05 am PT

1 Comment

Photo: DEME/Linked

In In a major milestone, the 2.6-gigawatt (GW) Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), which will be the US’s largest offshore wind farm, has installed its first monopile foundation.

The Orion, DEME Group’s heavy lift vessel, installed the monopile foundation approximately 29 miles off the Virginia Beach coast.

CVOW, which is being developed and will be owned by electric utility Dominion Energy, will feature 176 Siemens Gamesa 14 megawatt (MW) wind turbines, three offshore substations, and new onshore transmission infrastructure.

Once construction is complete in 2026, the US’s largest offshore wind farm will provide clean electricity for around 660,000 households and will support 1,100 jobs. It’s expected to generate fuel savings of $3 billion for customers during the first 10 years of operation.

The monopile foundations – steel tubes driven into the seabed to support the wind turbine generators – were manufactured by Rostock, Germany-based EEW SPC and are being staged at Portsmouth Marine Terminal.

Dominion Energy will continue to install monopiles as planned through the fall of 2024. However, it will pause all monopile installations from November 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025, to safeguard the endangered North Atlantic right whale during its migration period through the project area.

Additional protective measures for whales and other marine life include using bubble curtains – perforated hoses that pump out air to form a barrier of bubbles around the monopiles during installation – which dampen underwater sound waves. Protected Species Observers will staff vessels that will comply with speed restrictions to prevent collisions with the whales.

Robert M. Blue, Dominion Energy’s chair, president, and chief executive officer, said, “We are taking extensive precautions to ensure this project is fully protective of the environment and to protect marine species.”

Read more: This US offshore wind farm is piloting a bubble curtain – what it is and why it’s cool

electrek.co

Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read


From: Eric5/28/2024 9:49:51 AM
   of 971
 
Tasmania launches consultation on state’s first REZ in “windy north west”




Sophie Vorrath

May 28, 2024

1

Share via Email

Policy & Planning


Tasmania has launched six weeks of consultation to finalise the boundary lines for its first Renewable Energy Zone proposed for the state’s “windy north west,” with a market offering for proponents set to follow “soon.”

The North West REZ is an area of just under 115,000 hectares proposed for on the land of the Noeteeler people, and within four municipal areas of Waratah-Wynyard, Burnie, Central Coast and Kentish (see Map above).

Tasmania energy minister Nick Duigan says the region was selected as the state’s first REZ after extensive planning and consultation. He says its proposed design is the result of 18 months of analysis and engagement with local communities.

“The North West has world-class wind resources along with the space and infrastructure for renewable energy projects, such as wind and solar farms,” Duigan said.

The minister says the REZ could also support hydrogen exports from the already majority renewables state, as well as the government’s target of 200 per cent renewables by 2040.

The North West REZ centres around major grid upgrades, known as the North West Transmission Developments (NWTD), that are considered crucial to the connection of the Marinus Link subsea cable and of new loads and renewables, including a number of large wind farms.

“Our government will underwrite transmission infrastructure between Burnie and Hampshire to support new and existing renewable energy generation projects in the region,” Duigan said last week.

At this stage, just two planned wind projects are inside the REZ boundary as it is currently proposed; Ark Energy’s up to 450MW Guildford wind farm, near Waratah, and further north the same developer’s proposed 300MW Hellyer wind farm.

The development of Marinus Link – which is in turn crucial to the so-called “Battery of the Nation” project, where Tasmania pipes excess renewables to the mainland – has been contentious, not least of all for its ballooning cost to Tasmanian energy consumers.

Also contentious are the plans for a massive $1 billion-plus, 900MW wind farm proposed for Robbins Island off north-west Tasmania, that sits outside the proposed REZ but would rely on the upgraded transmission lines and Marinus to go ahead.

Duigan says the establishment of REZs will ensure renewables are developed in the most suitable areas of Tasmania and minimise supporting transmission infrastructure.

“They can also attract industrial energy users to our state, creating more jobs for Tasmanians,” the minister said.

“Launching the consultation is the next step in delivering Tasmania’s first Renewable Energy Zone, and it is a key part of our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future.”

Not-for-profit group Community Power Agency says Tasmania has prioritised community engagement during their scoping and investigation phase, conducting a social feasibility study through their innovative “Mapping Important Places” platform.

“This Australian first, asked locals to identify places important to them and places that could potentially host renewable energy projects, which was then considered in the planning of the REZ.

“This means that the first ‘lines on a map’ are already informed by local communities.”

The Agency’s director, Kim Mallee, who co-authored Tasmania’s Guidelines for Community Engagement, Benefit Sharing and Local Procurement says the government has prioritised “the social elements of doing renewables well.”

“Of all the States, Tasmania understands the importance and value of maintaining social licence, and it’s clear they have designed their REZ planning process with this in mind,” Mallee says.

Consultation on the proposed REZ boundary and an associated community benefits scheme will occur over the next six weeks, “with a market offering for proponents soon to follow,” the government says.

Share on Twitter
Share on Facebook
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn
Share on Reddit

reneweconomy.com.au

Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read


From: Ron6/9/2024 8:23:16 AM
1 Recommendation   of 971
 
China surges ahead on wind energy
semafor.com

Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read


From: Eric6/9/2024 12:09:39 PM
1 Recommendation   of 971
 
Winds of fortune: Coal workers eye “jobs for life” with offshore renewables


Image: OX2

Marion Rae

June 9, 2024

1

Share via Email

CleanTech Bites


When Tony Wolfe started out as an apprentice, aged 15, at the Hazelwood coal-fired power station he had a job for life.

Now he has a six-year-old granddaughter and says he wants her to have an opportunity to enter the energy industry, with long-term career prospects, rather than have to leave her region in 10 years to find work.

“I’m a coal worker advocating for renewables, so I’m a bit of a square peg in a round hole,” he said during a visit to Parliament House in Canberra with the team behind one of Australia’s most advanced offshore wind projects.

“I’ve been advocating for renewables for about 15 years, because the writing’s been on the wall that coal is going to end.”

But he’s concerned that a decade from now, the offshore wind industry – long established elsewhere – will still be in its infancy in Australia.

“The thing that exercises my mind is the urgency with which we need to do this within Gippsland … I don’t think people understand,” Mr Wolfe said.

“We’ve got to build a complete new workforce for this industry, and we’ve got the opportunity to make that workforce truly reflective of the community that it serves, and I mean gender-balanced, diverse and flexible.”

Closure dates are in place for all of Victoria’s coal-fired power stations, including one of Australia’s biggest – Yallourn in Latrobe Valley – in 2028.

That’s just around the corner, and if the state meets its offshore wind target to make two gigawatts by 2032, it will just cover the closure of Yallourn, Mr Wolfe warned.

“The question I get asked is: why haven’t they started building yet,” he said.


Former coal worker Tony Wolfe has been advocating for renewables because “coal is going to end”. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)

Australia’s most carbon-intensive electricity generator, Hazelwood and its coal mine were shut in 2017 and the area became a political battleground in the country’s ongoing climate wars.

Some say why not use the 800 years of coal we’re leaving in the ground, but Mr Wolfe said the best thing to happen to the region was getting the end date set in place.

Fifth-generation Novocastrian, Sharon Claydon, who is deputy speaker and federal MP for Newcastle, is equally excited about what new energy sources will bring to her region.

Once known as a steel city, BHP was Newcastle’s biggest employer until the steelworks closed in 1999, leaving a deepwater port and plenty of industrial land adjacent to a future Hunter offshore wind zone located off the coast of NSW.

“Twenty-odd years ago now, BHP, in a boardroom somewhere across the other side of the globe, made a decision that they were going to shut up shop in Newcastle and leave us,” Ms Claydon said.

“There was a bit of a divorce settlement that went on for a while, and a lot of people who don’t know Newcastle wrote us off.”

Ms Claydon says the region has a highly skilled workforce that already knows what to do with energy, a great university and TAFE, and is perfect geographically for offshore wind.

Health and education have become the biggest employers, alongside plans for a thoughtful transition in the way the area generates, stores and distributes energy, including to new advanced manufacturing workshops.

Chief executive of Southerly Ten, Charles Rattray, leads the team behind Australia’s most advanced offshore wind projects, Star of the South, located 10km off the south coast of Gippsland, which could supply one-fifth of Victoria’s electricity.

Backed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Southerly Ten also a proposal for Destiny Wind off the Hunter coast and the Kut-Wut Brataualung project off Wilsons Promontory in Victoria.

“If we were to build these three projects, we’re talking about thousands of jobs and over $20 billion of investment into the Australian economy,” Mr Rattray said.

“It’s a really significant, generation-changing investment in Australia’s energy transition,” he said.

Mr Rattray said offshore wind had a very special role in the electricity grid because of the way it dovetails with onshore wind.

When onshore wind is at a low ebb or when solar farms power down with the sun, offshore Gippsland wind is typically an incredible wind resource at times of peak demand, he explained.

There’s a similar characteristic ahead for Newcastle, along with what is known as solar-wind complementarity, in a national grid where different renewable electricity sources and energy storage will co-exist.

He said investors have been particularly keen to get started in Gippsland, with the state’s offshore wind targets providing certainty.

Daniel Miller, CEO of the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, said they have had 100 years of extractive industry.

“There’s three big holes in the ground in Latrobe Valley and also 23 oil and gas rigs offshore,” he said.

“We’ve had energy security because of that but the legacy it’s left is really significant … this opportunity can take us into the future and not have that impact to country.”

Mr Miller said offshore wind represents a “once-in-a-generation or greater” opportunity for the Gunaikurnai people who have native title over a large part of Gippsland, which is directly adjacent to the first offshore wind zone set for Australia.

“Southerly Ten have a higher social conscience and value traditional owners the way that they should,” he added.

Others are also lining up to secure licences to develop in six priority offshore wind areas, dotted around the coastline, but the NSW government has been told to get up to speed.

“The Hunter is well and truly under transition … we’ve had coal-fired power stations close, we’ve had coal mines close, we’re an industry region,” Justin Page, co-ordinator of the Hunter Jobs Alliance, said.

He said there was also a solid manufacturing base and no reason why the region couldn’t start making the wind towers.

“Aim big … there’s no reason why we can’t shoot for the stars,” Mr Page said.

The real measure of success would be the use of local companies to create long-term meaningful jobs and prosperity for our regions, he said.

It typically takes around seven to 10 years to develop an offshore wind project, and a handful of feasibility licences were recently issued.

Historically, there’s been bipartisan support with the coalition passing legislation for offshore electricity infrastructure and the Labor government putting the meat on the bones with licensing and regulations.

But the states are going at different wind speeds, with Victoria well ahead of NSW, Mr Page warned.

AAP

reneweconomy.com.au

Share on Twitter
Share on Facebook
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn
Share on Reddit

Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read


From: Ron6/10/2024 2:02:02 PM
1 Recommendation   of 971
 
Wind turbines are not a major cause of bird deaths. If you want to protect birds, keep your cat indoors


Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read


From: Eric6/12/2024 10:35:26 AM
   of 971
 
Netherlands awards 4GW of offshore wind in zero-subsidy tender



Joshua S Hill

Jun 12, 2024


1

Share via Email

Renewables
Wind


The Netherlands has awarded permits for four gigawatts (GW) of new offshore wind capacity in its latest zero-subsidy tender, with the projects to include floating solar farms, artificial reefs and a green hydrogen facility.

The two winning sites are located in the IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Zone, around 62 kms off the Dutch coast in the North Sea. Each will boast a capacity of at least 2GW for a combined capacity of 4GW – which will provide around 14 per cent of the Netherlands current electricity consumption.

The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) said the contracts went to two consorta that had to meet a number of criteria through their applications designed to strengthen the ecological and environmental benefits of the wind farms.

A consortium consisting of ABP, APG, and SSE Renewables won the right to develop the 2GW “Alpha” site. The “Noordzeker” consortium project will include a “living laboratory” which will build artificial reefs on over 75 per cent of the wind turbines.



Image Credit: Netherlands Enterprise Agency

Noordzeker’s plans also include turbine and wind farm designs that will contribute to the protection of birds and contains measures that will significantly reduce disturbance to marine mammals during construction and operation.

The second consortium, Zeevonk, made up of Vattenfall and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), was awarded the contract to build the IJmuiden Ver Beta wind farm.

In addition to the 2GW offshore wind farm, IJmuiden Ver Beta will also consist of a 50MW floating solar farm, the largest of its kind in the Netherlands, while a 1GW green hydrogen electrolyser will be built onshore in the port of Rotterdam.

“The Netherlands is taking yet another major step forward in the energy transition with IJmuiden Ver,” said Martijn Hagens, CEO of Vattenfall Netherlands.

“Combining wind, solar and hydrogen, this project will create a state-of-the-art energy system and support further decarbonisation of industries and our society. We are extremely proud to have been awarded this permit and look forward to implementing our plans for this energy park together with CIP.”

While there have been come concerns raised around the economic sustainability of Netherlands’ zero-subsidy tenders, this latest tender nevertheless received several bids, and both consortia have committed to paying the state for the right to develop and operate the wind farms.

“It shows that wind farms and nature can go well together and that offshore wind with smart solutions can help reduce pressure on the onshore power grid,” said Rob Jetten, the Netherlands’ minister for climate and energy.

” Market conditions have become more complicated, so I am extra happy that these parties want to build offshore wind farms!”

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit

  • reneweconomy.com.au

    Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read


    From: Eric6/12/2024 2:33:46 PM
       of 971
     
    Construction begins on new big battery next to one of Australia’s oldest wind farms



    Pacific Blue’s Clements Gap wind farm in South Australia

    Giles Parkinson

    Jun 12, 2024

    2

    Share via Email

    Battery Storage


    Construction has begun on a new 130 MWh big battery that is located next to one ofAustralia’s oldest wind farms.

    Pacific Blue, formerly known as Pacific Hydro, says it is building a 60 MW, 130 MWh grid scale battery at Clements Gap, near Port Pirie in South Australia, next to the 57 MW Clements Gap wind farm that was built in 2010.

    The new battery is one of a number of new battery storage projects being built in South Australia as the state makes the next leap from around 75 per cent renewables (wind and solar) to its newly fast tracked target of 100 per cent net renewables by 2030.

    Other battery projects under construction in South Australia include Neoen’s Blyth battery and Zen Energy’s Templers battery, while Origin has flagged a battery project at Templers Creek and Enel Green Power is considering a battery at the Bungala solar farm.

    South Australia already has four operating big batteries – at Hornsdale, Lake Bonney, Dalrymple North and Torrens Island, with another awaiting commissioning at Tailem Bend. Many other battery projects are in the pipeline awaiting development approval, contracts or financial close.

    The Clements Gap battery, however, is the first for Pacific Blue, which was one of the first major renewable energy developers in Australia and has 665 MW of operating wind, solar and hydro assets. After a lengthy pause in new projects it now says it has a pipeline of more than 2.5 GW of new renewables and storage projects.

    Pacific Blue was founded in Melbourne in 1992, but in 2016 was bought – and renamed – by the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), one of the five major power generation groups in China and the largest solar power generation enterprise in the world. The battery appears to be the first new project since that change of ownership.

    “The focus of Australia’s energy transition so far has overwhelmingly been on the generation of renewable energy – storing that energy and deploying it to support grid stability is the missing piece and a critical component of Australia’s renewable energy transition,” CEO Dominic Capomolla said in a statement.

    State energy minister Tom Koutsantonis says the battery project will help reduce peak wholesale prices by increasing the amount of available power when it is needed most.

    “It is encouraging to see a new company joining the others who have already installed or are building grid-scale batteries,” he said.

    “This will increase competition in the South Australian market for ancillary services and in the wholesale market. It will assist the whole state as we transition to cleaner, more affordable and reliable energy.”

    Share on Twitter
    Share on Facebook
    Share on Pinterest
    Share on LinkedIn
    Share on Reddit

    reneweconomy.com.au

    Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read


    From: Eric6/18/2024 12:29:42 PM
       of 971
     
    Works begin on second stage of Golden Plains wind farm – largest in Southern Hemisphere


    Golden Plains wind farm. Source: TagEnergy

    Sophie Vorrath

    Jun 19, 2024

    0

    Share via Email

    Renewables
    Wind


    Construction is underway on the second stage of what is said to be the largest onshore wind currently being developed in Australia, and the southern hemisphere, after TagEnergy reached financial close on part two of its $4 billion Golden Plains Wind Farm in Victoria.

    TagEnergy says works will begin on the final 577MW stage of the massive 1,333MW project after securing non-recourse finance from a global group of lenders including the federal government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

    Australia’s Commonwealth and Westpac banks, Denmark’s Export & Investment Fund, Japan’s Mizuho Bank, France’s Natixis Bank, the Bank of China and Germany’s Deutsche Bank also helped finance the project.

    The CEFC commitment to stage two of Golden Plains takes its debt finance in the project to some $350 million, alongside the previous investment of $222.5 million in stage one.

    “We are now in the critical decade to reduce emissions and Australia must urgently develop the assets that will deliver more clean energy to the grid,” said CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth.

    “Golden Plains Wind Farm will play a significant role in helping Australia reach net zero as well as replacing the energy supply that will be lost when Yallourn coal fired power station retires in 2028.”

    Learmonth says the green bank used the same “bridge to contract” finance strategy that had helped fast track construction of Golden Plains Stage 1, which has son far contracted 60 per cent of its energy and green certificates – 20% to digital infrastructure company Equinix and 40% to federal government-owned gentailer Snowy Hydro.

    “The CEFC capital will enable construction to begin before Stage 2 secures power purchase agreements, ensuring faster deployment of clean, green power to Victorian consumers,” Learmonth said.

    Vestas will again supply the turbines for the stage 2 project, 93 of them, while contracts were also extended for AusNet Services to undertake the grid connection works and WestWind Energy to be the asset manager.

    Andrew Riggs, TagEnergy’s managing partner in Australia, says the delivery of the project has been buoyed by federal Labor’s Capacity Investment Scheme, which is currently seeking 6 GW of new wind and solar capacity in its first major tender.

    “The supportive policy landscape created by the CIS has given us confidence to start construction of Golden Plains Stage 2 now,” Riggs said.

    “Commencing construction will maximise project delivery certainty and strengthen the competitiveness of our bid in the upcoming CIS auction.”

    Riggs says the cooperation and strong progress of the teams working on stage one, as well as the pace of the assessment and approval process for grid connection, have also helped ensure the project’s success.

    “The diligence and expertise of the grid connection teams at Vestas and AEMO Victoria who leveraged best practices developed during the adjacent 756MW Golden Plains Wind Farm Stage 1 connection process reduced the assessment period from nine months to five months,” he said.

    “This significant achievement is a great contribution to the speed and economics of Australia’s energy transition.

    “This mega-project materially improves Victoria’s energy security, puts downward pressure on electricity costs and dramatically reduces carbon pollution. Together with our partners, we are accelerating the energy transition.”

    TagEnergy says that with both stages of the huge project now underway, more than 350 people are expected to be working on site.

    Golden Plains Wind Farm Stage 1 is expected to start producing green energy in the first quarter of 2025, with Stage 2 to follow in mid-2027. Once complete, Golden Plains Wind Farm will be the biggest in Australia, delivering 9% of Victoria’s energy, or enough to power more than 750,000 homes – the equivalent of every home in regional Victoria.

    Share on Twitter
    Share on Facebook
    Share on Pinterest
    Share on LinkedIn
    Share on Reddit

    reneweconomy.com.au

    Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read
    Previous 10 Next 10