ABB’s cable system will connect the offshore wind farm platforms Kriegers Flak A and B to Rødvig, in Denmark.

By Ritesh Gupta

Companies mentioned: ABB, Energinet.dk, RWE Innogy, Statkraf, Vestas, Triton Knoll,  Mainstream Renewable Power, Apex Clean Energy, Google, Pattern Energy

ABB bags $100m subsea cable system order

ABB has been chosen to work on Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm. The power and automation technology group has been awarded a $100m subsea cable system order from Energinet.dk, the Danish transmission system operator, to build an alternating current cable system.

The offering will enable the integration and transmission of power from the Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm to the mainland grid. The 600 MW cable system will enable transmission of energy from the offshore wind farm to the mainland.

The project is scheduled to be commissioned in 2018.

ABB’s cable system will connect the offshore wind farm platforms Kriegers Flak A and B to Rødvig, in Denmark.

The company will design, supply and install three high-voltage alternating current 220 kilovolt three-core submarine cables with a total length of about 100km – 44 km from each of the platforms to shore and 11 km between the two platforms.

RWE Innogy, Statkraft confirm deal for Triton Knoll

RWE Innogy and Statkraft have finalised a deal to jointly develop the Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm, off the east coast of England.

The deal will see Statkraft take a 50% stake in the UK wind farm, which has an expected capacity of up to 900MW.

The development and construction phases will be delivered by a joint RWE/ Statkraft project team, managed by Statkraft and, drawing upon the competencies of both companies.

The project gained a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the offshore array from the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in July 2013 and an application for a DCO for the Electrical System is currently being prepared for submission to the Planning Inspectorate later in the spring this year.

Mainstream Renewable Power makes progress in South Africa

Mainstream Renewable Power has completed financial close for three wind farms in South Africa with a combined capacity of 360 MW.

The South African wind farms that have reached financial close are:

• The 140MW Khobab Wind Farm located in the District Municipality of Namakwa in the Northern Cape.
• The 140MW Loeriesfontein 2 Wind Farm located in the District Municipality of Namakwa.
• The 80MW Noupoort Wind Farm located in the Local Municipality of Umsobomvu in the Northern Cape.

The wind farms, which are all located in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province, are expected to commence construction this month.

It was in the last quarter of 2013 when a consortium led by Mainstream was awarded the contracts for the three wind farms by the Department of Energy in South Africa under the third round of its Renewable Energy Procurement Programme.

The debt for the projects has been arranged and underwritten by Barclays and the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

The consortium of Murray & Roberts and Conco has been appointed as construction contractor and Siemens Wind will supply and install the wind turbines.

Vestas ends 2014 with strong performance

Danish wind turbine maker Vestas has stated that last year has proved to be a year of strong performance.

2014 was the first year in the implementation of Vestas’ new strategic plan.

Wind turbine order intake increased by 10% last year and the service order backlog increased as well.

For full year 2014, revenue amounted to € 6.9bn, EBIT margin before special items was 8.1%, total investment was €285m, and the free cash flow amounted to €841m.

The wind turbine order intake increased from 5,964 MW in 2013 to 6,544 MW in 2014 and the value of the service order backlog increased by €0.3b to € 7bn, despite the carve-out of the offshore service order backlog during the year.

For 2015, Vestas expects revenue to amount to minimum €6.5bn with an EBIT margin before special items of minimum 7%, total investments of around €300m, and a free cash flow of minimum € 400m.

Apex Clean Energy secures $50m in financing

Apex Clean Energy, an independent renewable energy company, has secured $50m in financing from Prudential Capital Group.

The proceeds of the financing will be utilised to advance Apex's project pipeline, including project development, acquisitions and general corporate purposes.

Mark Goodwin, president, Apex Clean Energy mentioned that the team founded Apex in 2009, at a time when financial markets were in turmoil.

“Since then, our investment thesis has not changed: the low cost of clean energy has been the key factor driving growth in the market,” he said, adding that this is what has enabled the group’s portfolio to deliver attractive returns and attract top-tier investors such as Prudential Capital Group.

Google opts for wind energy for its North Bayshore HQ

Search giant Google recently signed a long-term agreement to purchase local wind energy to offset the electrical consumption of its North Bayshore headquarters on an annual basis.

The agreement with NextEra Energy Resources will help to repower an iconic Bay Area wind farm at California’s Altamont Pass with new turbines that will pour 43 MW of electricity onto the grid starting in 2016.

The new turbines will generate energy that feeds into the grid that powers the company’s North Bayshore buildings in Mountain View.

Google has been committed to being a carbon-neutral company since 2007.

Pattern Energy Group achieves a milestone

Pattern Energy Group has confirmed the addition of the 147 MW Mont Sainte-Marguerite Wind project to its list of identified Right of First Offer (ROFO) projects from Pattern Development.

Pattern Development expects to begin construction of the project in the third quarter of 2016 and anticipates reaching commercial operation in December 2017.

The Mont Sainte-Marguerite Wind project, which is located approximately 50km south of Québec City in the Chaudière-Appalaches region, has entered into a 25-year PPA with Hydro-Québec.

The group shared that now over 1GW of Canadian assets now operating or on the list of identified ROFO projects.

Also, the latest addition has hiked identified ROFO list to nine projects with 977 MW of total owned capacity.