Swedish firm Peab has been commissioned to do the land and concrete work for the Vindkraftpark Stor-Rotliden wind power plant in Fredrika, Åsele. The order from Vattenfall is valued at over SEK 100 million.
The contract comprises 40 wind generator foundations, crane parking spaces, roads and cable work. The work will commence at once and is expected to be completed in October 2010. Once the wind power facility is up and running, it is expected to provide enough energy to power around 50,000 homes
Peab is a Nordic construction and civil engineering company with net sales exceeding SEK 35 billion and approximately 13,000 employees. The group’s subsidiaries have offices in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Accommodating the large amounts of wind energy (PDF) needed to meet Britain’s and Ireland’s carbon reduction targets could mean wildly variable energy prices for both countries, according to a new study from the analyst firm Pöyry Energy Consulting.
The report, “Impact of Intermittency,” provides insights into how the electricity sector in both the UK and Republic of Ireland could look by 2030.
Both countries have set ambitious targets to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 2020, and wind energy is expected to be the greatest contributor. But the impact of the dramatic amounts of wind generation capacity needed to meet the challenge has largely remained uncertain.
The year-long study is based on hourly statistics from 36 locations from the years 2000 through 2007, totalling more than 2.5 million pieces of data.
“At the outset we believed that it was vital to inform the debate about the importance of wind in decarbonising the electricity supply, by informed, quantitative analysis,” said James Cox, principal consultant at Pöyry Energy Consulting. “This has proved to be a major challenge but the richness of the information has surprised even the
project team. And, while the answers we now have are often complex, we believe that any debate on the role of wind can now be properly informed.”
The firm has presented its findings to relevant government organisations, including the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), as well as to a number of high-profile energy companies.
Estimates of the amount of wind needed to meet the carbon reduction targets range from 6-8 gigawatts for the Irish electricity market and 35-45 gigawatts for the British electricity market by 2030. The Pöyry study shows that accommodating such large amounts of wind will test those markets in very different ways, and gives the electricity market a rare opportunity to compare and contrast.
Researchers examined the extremes of low and high wind over 2000-2007, and found that — even at an annual level — wind generation output varied by almost 25 per cent in the Irish market and 13 per cent in the British market.
The study’s models illustrated some dilemmas. For example, they showed electricity demand rocketed on frosty nights when there was virtually no wind and low output but, when the temperature rose in strong south-westerlies and there was less need for electricity, there was almost full wind generation output.
Although it has previously been suggested that such intermittent output could be mitigated by greater interconnection between the British and Irish markets, Pöyry’s analysts believe their finding have underlined the critical importance of the Irish market having interconnection to the British market, although the opposite is not
true.
However, stronger interconnection would also make British market price spikes become a feature of the Irish market. And the study suggests that interconnectors cannot be the golden bullet to solve the intermittency challenge, although they are extremely important.
The study also found that new thermal plants dealing with low and highly uncertain loads could face poor returns on investment.
“If significant wind energy is achieved, along the lines required by the 2020 renewable targets, we predict power stations which are built now will face much more uncertain revenues in the future,” the report states. “For example, any generation built before 2016 to cover closure, under emission regulations, of existing coal-fired power stations, would face a volatile future, uncertain to the point that plant may only operate for a few hours one year and then hundreds of hours the next year.”
With the level of wind energy envisaged on the system by 2030, the variation in prices will be extreme, analysis shows, with periods of negative prices and very short periods with prices at almost £8000 per megawatt-hour.
“Although additional detailed work needs to be carried out to properly model the behaviour of the grid systems in both countries, our worry at the outset of the study that the very dynamics of variable wind output would challenge the system operators, has moved to concern that the economic environment for thermal plant will be highly challenging,” Cox said.
In response to the report, EDF Energy released a statement:
“We believe that renewable energy, including wind power, must make a contribution to the UK’s future energy requirements as part of a diverse mix. The mix should also include large contributions from nuclear and fossil fuel with CCS. This diverse plant mix will deliver greater security and greater reduction in carbon emissions, at lower
cost to consumers.
“The Poyry work provides detailed evidence to substantiate previous assumptions that the level of electricity generated by wind turbines will be highly volatile and unpredictable, and in particular that there is a very poor relationship between wind output and demand. As a result of this ‘intermittency,’ large amounts of fossil fuel
generation will be needed as ‘back-up’ for when the wind isn’t blowing.
“This is illustrated clearly in Poyry’s core scenario which shows that generation capacity will need to increase from around 80 gigawatts today to around 110 gigawatts by 2030 despite only a small increase in demand. Keeping
this backup plant available will be expensive and would have an impact on customers’ bills.
“However, additional cost may not be the only problem. The study casts significant doubt as to whether the market would incentivise sufficient investment in new generation due to the significant increase in commercial risks for all generators that would result from highly volatile, and sometimes negative electricity prices. The result could potentially be a reduction in the security of supply standards we enjoy today.
“A striking aspect about Poyry’s core scenario is that even building over 50 gigawatts of renewable generation by 2030 — which is in itself an extremely challenging target — would still not be sufficient to reduce the carbon intensity of UK electricity generation to the level that the Climate Change Committee believe is necessary. In fact, while the Climate Change Committee recommends 70 grams CO2/ kilowatt-hour, Poyry’s analysis shows that even this scenario would deliver electricity with intensity of about 130 grams CO2/kilowatt-hour.
“Delivering the more significant reduction set by the Climate Change Committee will therefore require a much larger contribution from the other available zero-carbon technologies, specifically nuclear and fossil fuel with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), than currently assumed by Poyry in their modelling.
“While the Poyry study is a good assessment of how very high penetration of wind power will cause challenges for the electricity system, from our perspective the real question is not ‘what are the consequences of a high wind path for the UK,’ but ‘what path should the UK take in the first place.’ ”
Nearly 4 out of 10 UK recycling firms are on shaky financial footing, according to a report published in Materials Recycling Week.
The article cites research from the analyst organisation Plimsoll Publishing, which gave 23 per cent of the top recycling firms a financial “danger” rating, and gave a “caution” rating to a further 15 per cent.
Plimsoll’s analysis looked at Britain’s top 1,000 recycling firms, rating their financial standings on a 1-to-5 scale. Factors included in the analysis included sales growth, profits, debt and efficiency.
France’s EDF Energies Nouvelles has commissioned a first round of bond funding to cover 30 megawatts of development (EDF) at the Thorntonbank offshore wind farm being built in Belgium.
Once completed, the installation is set to be one of Europe’s largest offshore wind farms.
As part of the first pilot 30-megawatt phase, six high-power wind turbines of 5 megawatts each have been installed off the coast of Zeebrugge on the Thorntonbank sand bank. The first offshore project built in Belgium, the wind farm — when fully completed — will feature some 60 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 300 megawatts. That would be enough to meet the annual electricity needs of a city of 600,000 inhabitants, and would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 450,000 tonnes per year.
Construction of the entire wind farm, which is structured in several phases, is expected to be completed in 2013.
EDF Energies Nouvelles holds an equity interest of 18.3 per cent in the project, which is owned by a group of companies brought together in the Belgian C-Power consortium.
Government stimulus spending and a shift toward green technologies are expected to yield a bumper crop of orders for Siemens in the next three years.
The company expects stimulus spending to help it win new orders of around €15 billion in the next three fiscal years — 2010 through 2012. Of that amount, some 40 per cent, or nearly €6 billion, will be for green technologies, which is expected to boost Siemen’s environmental revenues significantly.
“With their programs, governments worldwide are sending the right signal,” said Peter Löscher, president and CEO of Siemens. “Against the backdrop of the worst global economic crisis in decades, these government measures are at least partially cushioning, in some cases, sharp declines in private-sector demand. They should also have a stabilising effect on our business.”
Löscher added, “In addition, the government programs will safeguard jobs worldwide. The large portion of the investments in environmental technologies will probably create new green jobs as well. This applies particularly to the green infrastructure giant Siemens.”
To overcome the global economic crisis, stimulus programs of around €2.0 trillion have been announced and, in some cases, already initiated. Roughly one third of this total — or some €700 billion — is slated for investment in infrastructure projects. The remainder is accounted, for example, by tax cuts for private households. The total volume of planned infrastructure expenditures relevant for Siemens comes to approximately €150 billion in the next three fiscal years. Given the company’s current average market share worldwide, these expenditures can be expected to generate new orders of roughly €15 billion.
In a country-by-country comparison, the shares of the stimulus programme that Siemens can address are the largest in the US, where they total slightly more than €85 billion. China comes next with a Siemens-relevant share of around €25 billion, followed by Germany with a share of roughly €5 billion. Major parts of these stimulus programs are earmarked for green technologies. For example, investments in green technologies account for nearly 50 per cent in China and for about 60 per cent in Germany.
“The various governments are strongly focused on sustainable investments,” Löscher said.
SAP AG and PlaNet Finance are joining forces and using a combination of microfinancing, new technology and improved value chains to help entrepreneurs on the lowest steps of the economic pyramid to create sustainable businesses.
The team effort will focus on three main areas: developing technology for field initiatives, developing software for microfinance institutions (MFIs) and deploying SAP technology for PlaNet Finance’s corporate initiatives. In addition, SAP will use its associations with its customers, partners and developers — known as the SAP ecosystem — to provide expert assistance. The companies announced the new collaboration today at a joint press conference in Paris.
Microfinancing provides financial services – especially credit, savings and insurance – to the disadvantaged. By offering small loans to budding entrepreneurs and business collectives, the lending organizations can have a positive impact on an individual level by giving people an opportunity to break out of extreme poverty. Such loans can also help to develop sustainable economic growth in emerging markets.
“Our mission is to further the development of microfinance through the creation of programs and tools that encourage best practices in the sector,” said Jacques Attali, president of PlaNet Finance. “More than eight million people in nearly 80 countries are currently beneficiaries of funds provided by PlaNet Finance’s network of MFIs. With new technologies, the network’s impact will be even greater. PlaNet Finance is actively involved in this field, which will enable hundreds of millions of low-income entrepreneurs, mainly in rural areas, to gain access to financial services at an affordable cost. By leveraging new technology, SAP and PlaNet Finance will improve the current microfinance offering through better access to education and skills training for more people in need worldwide.”
To start their first joint field initiative, SAP and PlaNet Finance have carefully studied the shea nut value chain in northern Ghana to identify how microfinance, education and technology can help improve the incomes and living conditions of women who pick and process the nuts into shea butter. Although the production of shea butter, used in food and cosmetics, is one of the most accessible income-generating activities for rural women in Ghana, their incomes are unstable due to a lack of market information, inadequate business knowledge and low negotiating power.
The joint initiative will develop groups of shea nut harvesters and provide them training on how to effectively work together to help drive maximum success. Women will also be trained in after-harvest nut treatments and improved techniques for shea butter production. Each group will be equipped with a mobile phone to manage orders and facilitate the microfinance institution’s follow-up on loans. Along with the technology from SAP and PlaNet Finance, this regrouping aims to increase yield, improve bargaining power, enhance product quality and offer better management of contractual relations with buyers.
“SAP and PlaNet Finance share a commitment to helping people find the best way to run their businesses,” said SAP CEO Léo Apotheker. “SAP believes that with the right partners the private sector can significantly contribute to the development of underserved markets worldwide. Our goal is to help organisations that face significant barriers to growth become profitable and sustainable businesses. SAP and PlaNet Finance will work to bridge the digital divide and bring the benefits of technology to those without access to it. With the assistance of the SAP ecosystem, we will also improve the technology supporting PlaNet Finance’s own operations and those of its network, so that they can better serve entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
The collaboration will also focus on two other areas:
PlaNet Finance’s Microfinance Institution Network. SAP will offer its expertise to improve MicroFit, microfinance software geared toward medium- and large-sized microfinance institutions. MicroFit was created by PlaNet Finance and helps manage loans at the lowest possible transaction cost. It is critical for MFIs to operate this way in order to be sustainable and maximise the number of clients they serve. The current software is based on a client/server architecture and will be re-developed to run over the Web to increase access from remote areas and decrease the cost of deployment;
PlaNet Finance Corporate. SAP will provide PlaNet Finance with the appropriate software and implementation support to help the organisation optimise business operations and processes in the areas of financial management, human resources, project management, business intelligence and knowledge management.
UK-based NextEnergy Capital, a bank specialising in renewable energy, has chosen Italy for its next solar power investments: four Enerqos solar farms to be built in Apulia.
Under an agreement signed last year, NextEnergy Capital will invest €1 billion in Enerqos for European solar farm construction. The total value of the initial projects in Apulia is estimated at about €20 million.
Enerqos will construct the four facilities, each with a 1-megawatt production capacity. One of the farms will feature Enerqos’ patented biaxial Solar Totem® tracking technology, which will allow performance to be increased by 38 per cent compared to conventional fixed mounting systems. All four solar farms will be equipped with a remote-management system for monitoring performance and timely detection of any operational anomalies.
All four facilities are expected to be completed and fully functional by autumn.
Under its agreement with Enerqos, NextEnergy has licensing permission under way for additional facilities in Apulia and Sicily, of which 37 megawatts will start construction later this year. Enerqos will also build additional plants for NextEnergy in Greece and France at a later date.
The database was launched by Loughborough-based Evance, a small wind turbine manufacturer, and its main UK distributor, Segen.
Farmers using the database can find local information on the grants available via the EU’ss Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, which totals €345 million. Administered by the UK’s regional development agencies, the grants range from £10,000 to £60,000, or up to 40 per cent of the installation cost.
Segen has installed more than 50 Evance wind turbines across the UK providing power to farm houses and farm buildings. These turbines do more than reduce a farm’s carbon footprint: farmers who install wind turbines are also rewarded for the amount of power that they generate through Ofgem’s Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs).
All of Segen installations include a ROC meter accredited by Ofgem. A new grid feed-in tariff to be launched in 2010 will also provide farmers with a return on any power that they generate and do not use.
Photovoltaics firm Signet Solar has inked what might be a first in the renewables industry (PDF): a 25-year insurance plan that covers the performance warranty of Signet’s solar modules.
Implemented by insurance provider Munich Re, the plan is designed to protect against the risk of performance deterioration in Signet’s photovoltaics. Signet guarantees that its modules will perform to at least 90 per cent capacity in the first 10 years and to at least 80 per cent in the remaining 15 years.
By insuring that warranty, Signet claims it will help solar park operators using its modules to more easily finance their installations.
In preparing the ground for the insurance concept, Munich Re’s Special Enterprise Risks experts spent several months examining Signet’s quality standards and manufacturing processes.
“Measures to counter climate change — and in particular the specific expansion of new energy production technologies — also open up major business opportunities for insurers,” said Thomas Blunck, a member of Munich Re’s board of management. “Munich Re has devised special risk-transfer products especially for complex risks connected with renewable energies, including the performance guarantee cover for which we were able to win over Signet Solar as our first client.”
“The insurance policy designed specifically to meet the needs of the photovoltaic industry gives operators of solar parks a clear advantage with banks and credit institutions, especially in these turbulent times,” said Jochen Körner, an executive board member of insurance broker Marsh, which was involved in developing and marketing the insurance product.
“For our clients, this insurance solution is a major stepping-stone in financing photovoltaic projects,” said Gunter Ziegenbalg, manager director of Signet Solar GmbH. “It ultimately gives operators of solar parks additional economic security in the event of an unforeseen loss in performance of the modules.”
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing Turkey with a €45 million loan for the construction of the largest wind farm in the country. The project will help Turkey promote clean energy and reduce its dependency on imported fuel sources.
The EBRD financing will be used to build a 135-megawatt, on-shore independent wind farm in Osmaniye in southern Turkey. The wind farm is being developed by Rotor Elektrik, a company incorporated in Turkey, a member of Zorlu Energy Group and owned by Zorlu Holding, one of the largest conglomerates in Turkey.
The farm is expected to become operational by the end of 2009 and will consist of 54 wind turbines. It’s expected to boost Turkey’s current installed wind generation capacity — now around 500 megawatts — by about 30 per cent.
The project is co-financed with the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, which is providing €55 million towards the overall cost of the project, and EIB, which is providing €30 million, with guarantees from HSBC plc and DenizBank A.S.
“With this first project in the country, the EBRD is delivering on its pledge to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy in Turkey’s regions,” said Varel Freeman, EBRD first vice-president. “Future EBRD investments will continue to focus on increasing the availability of risk capital and long-term financing, especially outside the main cities.”
“We are very ambitious in renewable energy projects, which will play an extremely important role in our counrys’s future and want to tender our thanks to IFC, EIB, EBRD, Denizbank and HSBC for partnering with us to develop the largest wind farm in Turkey,” said Murat Sungur Bursa, CEO of Zorlu Energy Group.
Turkey is the sixth largest electricity market in Europe, and one of the fastest growing globally. In order to meet growing electricity demand and diversify away from expensive, imported fuel sources, the Turkish authorities have made a strong push for increased electricity generation from renewable energy sources. Turkey is aiming to connect to the grid 10,000 megawatts of wind capacity alone by 2020. Currently, wind power comprises less than 0.5 percent of total electricity consumed.
In total, the EBRD expects to spend some €15 billion over the next three years for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Eastern Europe.
Swedish firm Peab has been commissioned to do the land and concrete work for the Vindkraftpark Stor-Rotliden wind power plant in Fredrika, Åsele. The order from Vattenfall is valued at over SEK 100 million.
Accommodating the 
Nearly 4 out of 10 UK recycling firms 
Government stimulus spending and 
SAP AG and PlaNet Finance are joining forces and using a combination of microfinancing, new technology and improved value chains to help entrepreneurs on the lowest steps of the economic pyramid to create sustainable businesses.
UK-based NextEnergy Capital, a bank specialising in renewable energy, has chosen Italy for its next solar power investments: 
A new database enables UK farmers to find out which grants they might be entitled to to help them 
Photovoltaics firm Signet Solar has inked what might be 
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing Turkey with a €45 million loan for the construction of the