News in brief - 1 October 2008
- Iberdrola Renovables will use GE Energy’s frequency converters with "low-voltage ride-thru" (LVRT) technology to upgrade 290 of its GE 1.5 MW turbines at wind farms in the Castilla La Mancha, Murcia and Rioja regions of Spain. The technology is designed to deliver ride-through capability for up to 15% grid voltage for at least 500 milliseconds.
- REpower Systems AG has been awarded a contract to supply 15 wind turbines (total rated power 30 MW) of type MM92, by the investor Saxovent. With a hub height of 100m and rated power of 2 MW each, the turbines are to be erected at a coastal location in North East Germany in 2010. The 2 MW turbines will be constructed at REpower’s Husum and Trampe (Brandenburg) production sites. By signing the contract, both companies are laying the foundation for possible further cooperation.
- AREVA and Shanghai Electric (SEC), a Chinese mechanical and electrical equipment manufacturer, have signed a new partnership agreement complementing the existing joint-venture (JV) between the two companies, which already comprises a 50/50 owned power transformer factory located in Shanghai. Both parties have agreed to build two new transformer manufacturing sites to be located in Wuhan (Hubei Province, Eastern China) and Lingang (Shanghai area) that will begin production in 2009. The entities will enable AREVA and SEC to triple their power transformer production capacity in China. AREVA will also build a new R&D centre in Shanghai that will open at the end of 2009, focusing on ultra high-voltage.
- Princeton Power Systems (PPS) has won a contract from the US Department of Energy (DoE) to develop advanced power conversion technologies under the Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems (SEGIS) programme. The research and development grant will enable a complete design for a 100 kW demand response inverter based on PPS’ proprietary inverter technology. The design will be optimised for low-cost, high quality manufacture, and will integrate control capabilities including dynamic energy storage and demand response through load control. The initial nine-month performance period includes two one-year options; the contract is worth US$6.5 million if both options are executed.
- HgCapital, a European sector-focused private equity investor, has won the Equity Deal of the Year (Infrastructure) accolade at the Euromoney and Ernst & Young Global Renewable Energy Awards for the company’s equity investment in the 95.4 MW Havsnäs onshore wind farm in Sweden. The awards honour projects, companies and individuals who have made a significant contribution to the global renewable energy sector. The €185 million Havsnäs project was the first true merchant project financing of a wind farm in Scandinavia and the largest energy project financing in the Nordic market, according to HgCapital.
-Trina Solar has announced the inauguration of a 26 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, which primarily uses PV modules manufactured by Trina Solar, in Fuente Alamo, Murcia, in the south-east of Spain. The project has been carried out by Gestamp Asetym Solar SA, a Spanish provider of solar system solutions. Trina Solar supplied 20 MW of mono and multi-crystalline solar modules as part of the long-term arrangement between both companies.
-Enerqos Plc, an Italian photovoltaic (PV) system and solar power plant construction company, has decided to open two new subsidiaries in Paris and Athens, which will be followed by other new locations in coming months, the first of which will be Spain and Cyprus. The French site will be a centre of expertise entirely devoted to building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV).
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