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UK urged to target 30GW onshore wind by 2030
RenewableUK calls for capacity targets for onshore wind and green hydrogen to help the country’s move towards its net zero by 2050 goal
Latest news
Wind operators face cumulative fines under new Russian system
Wind farms could lose all production payments from the Russian state under a new support scheme for projects commissioned in 2025-35
Equinor eyes Norwegian floating offshore wind bid
Equinor teams with Norwegian renewable energy company Vårgrønn to prepare a bid for a project off the country's south-west coast
Vestas exceeds 5GW of Brazilian orders for V150 turbines
Since launching the platform in 2017, Vestas has secured more than 14GW of orders globally for the V150-4.2MW
Enel pairs US wind farms with battery storage
The developer is adding a large battery storage component to an existing wind farm, and is building new hybrid projects in Texas
Vestas vows to bounce back from Q1 losses after slow start
CEO Henrik Andersen is confident the company will catch up on new orders, with the OEM maintaining its financial guidance for 2021
Demand for minerals threatens clean energy rollout, IEA warns
‘Looming mismatch’ between world’s climate ambitions and availability of necessary critical minerals, according to a new report
Siemens Gamesa in line for full 1GW-plus Hai Long off Taiwan
Northland Power and Yushan Energy name Siemens Gamesa as preferred supplier for its 1,044MW Hai Long offshore wind cluster
Equinor and Polenergia win Polish offshore wind contracts
Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office latest award of CfDs means it has now contracted about 4.3GW of offshore wind in the Baltic Sea
Vestas’ EnVentus turbines to power Google and Heineken
The turbine manufacturer is due to provide an EPC turnkey solution for Neoen’s 404MW Mutkalampi wind farm in western Finland
Floating offshore wind farm eyes Chevron-backed platform
Local content drive underpins Simply Blue Energy and Subsea 7's deal to assess Ocergy's low-weight floating platform design
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Long reads
Wind power is stronger and cheaper than ever
Wind has started the third decade of the 21st century as a leading technology. But what about the competition?
‘We can go further in the North Sea’ - GE renewables CEO
GE's Jerôme Pécresse talks exclusively to Windpower Monthly about the manufacturer’s plans for a new blade factory in the UK
Wind and storage hybrids — a marriage made in heaven?
Adding storage to renewables is on the rise, as the US leads the way in solar-battery hybrids and wind-battery projects take off in the UK
Turbines of the Year 2020: Winners against all odds
The wind-energy industry’s ingenuity and resilience shone through the many challenges of 2020, with new approaches to old ideas
Looking back on 2020 – How wind defied global pandemic
The Covid-19 crisis cast a big shadow over the wind industry, yet the sector proved its resilience, as part 1 of our 2020 round-up shows
Poland in pole position as Baltic Sea offshore wind gathers pace
Now that Poland has awarded power deals to its first offshore wind projects, read our insight report on the Baltic Sea
40 promising turbine designs that fell short of expectations
A look at 40 key innovative wind turbines that ultimately failed to make it as a commercial serial product
Wind rises to fill the gap as energy demand slumps
Wind power's potential to carry a greater role in worldwide electricity generation has been highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic
'The technology works': How wind will fill the power gap
DNV GL chief Ditlev Engel talks exclusively to Windpower Monthly about the pandemic's effect on clean energy production
Covid-19 Insight report: How wind rode the first wave
Looking at how some major markets have coped with the virus to date, and their plans to cut carbon emissions
Technology
GE’s Haliade-X cleared for markets in typhoon zones
DNV’s certification verifies that the Haliade-X offshore wind turbine can operate safely and efficiently under extreme wind conditions
How Ørsted plans to solve offshore wind cable challenge
Danish developer reports erosion and risk of cable failures due to cable protection system that was previously the “industry standard”
Vestas considers expanding UK blade production
A potential sales boost from the upcoming CfD tender round could prompt the Danish turbine maker to expand its UK footprint
Exus plans 85MW wind-solar hybrid project in Portugal
Exus sees hybrid wind and solar projects as an opportunity to optimise the grid, its chief operating officer explained
Aker supports wind blade recycling development
Two Aker companies have teamed up with a UK university to tackle recycling of wind turbine blades – a growing issue for the sector
Video: Hywind Tampen floating foundations move to deep water
Concrete slip-forming of 11 spar foundations reached 20m at Aker Solutions' yard and will continue to 107.5m at a deep-water site
Taiwanese firm plans to produce offshore wind turbines
Substation and generator specialist TECO Electric signs framework deals with developers to deliver prototype before 2025
Oil major Chevron backs new floating offshore wind company
Chevron and Moreld have invested in Ocergy – a new company launched by former senior staff at floating offshore wind pioneer Principle Power
Ørsted starts building 500MW-plus wind-solar hybrid in US
Ørsted’s 518MW Helena Energy Center in southern Texas consists of a 268MW wind farm and 250MWAC solar PV array
China Haizhuang installs first 5MW onshore wind turbine
China Haizhuang claimed that its 5MW turbine would help developers following the expiration of China's feed-in tariff for onshore wind
Business and finance
Siemens Gamesa earnings up in Q2, but onshore still struggling
The German-Spanish manufacturer reports an "encouraging" quarter due to the strength of its offshore and services business units
RWE names new executive board to lead energy transition
German energy firm appoints leadership trio, with incoming CEO aiming to turn it into a “leading global player in renewable energies”
Total buys into Taiwanese offshore wind sector
Deal to purchase 23% stake in Wpd’s 640MW Yunlin project marks oil major’s entry in the Asian offshore wind market
Ørsted’s profits down in first quarter despite higher revenues
Offshore maintenance provisions and lower wind speeds than last year pushed down Danish developer's profits in the first quarter of 2021
Which developers are showing the way in offshore wind?
The final part of our market status report reflects on the offshore sector's rapid progress so far and the road ahead
GE Renewable Energy narrows losses in Q1 2021
The US giant’s clean energy division remained in the red in the first three months of the year, despite delivering more than 750 turbines in Q1
Wind operators suffer $4bn hit in Texas cold snap
The average financial impact across all wind farms analysed in a study was $44.4m, with the highest hit for one project being $172.5m
Ørsted eyes cross-border offshore wind in the Baltic Sea
The Danish developer plans to form a joint venture with Baltic utility Enefit to bid for projects to power both Estonia and Latvia
Ørsted and pension giant to bid for North Sea energy island
Ørsted and ATP plan to use their industrial and financial capabilities to bid to build a hub off Denmark to connect North Sea farms
Total joins 8GW Australian green hydrogen study
Total Eren and Province Resources will assess the feasibility for using 8GW of renewables to produce green hydrogen and ammonia
Market and policy
Developers stay away from German onshore wind tender
Germany’s last onshore wind tender of 2020 was oversubscribed. But 2021’s first auction saw the return of a familiar trend
GWEC predicts wind industry jobs boom
The industry body believes the global build-out of 470GW of new wind capacity in 2021-2025 will create jobs across the value chain
Why some wind markets are more ready for growth
Wind energy continues to grow. But some markets are more ready for growth than others, as part two of our market status report shows
Germany plans to boost onshore wind auction volumes
The energy minister announced plans to raise auction volumes from 2022 and cut the levy consumers pay to support renewable energy
Biden plans to halve US emissions by 2030
The US president announced a new greenhouse gas emissions target during a meeting of world leaders, convened to discuss climate change
EU agrees deal for 55% emissions cut by 2030
Lawmakers reached an agreement on the bloc’s climate law in the early hours of the morning following 14 hours of negotiations
WindEconomics: The fall and fall of wind and solar costs
Energy industry reports confirm wind and solar's price advantage over other sources and highlight strong job-creation potential
Cost of wind energy will likely continue to fall, study finds
Berkeley Lab survey of industry experts concludes wind costs may be reduced by up to a third by 2035 and as much as half by 2050
Baltic Insight report: Reaching out across the sea
With nine countries bordering the Baltic Sea, some cross-border projects are in the works, from transmission links to co-developing sites
European grid operators plan modular offshore wind link
TSOs have launched a scheme to work towards pan-European interconnection for offshore wind. But some key players have not joined yet
Project development
Vestas enters Latvian wind power market with 59MW deal
The Danish manufacturer hopes wind will play a bigger role as hydro-dominated Latvia moves towards 50% renewables by 2030 target
Enel Green Power commissions 269MW Mexican wind farm
Enel’s 269MW Dolores wind farm is the third largest operational wind farm in Mexico, according to Windpower Intelligence
France chooses bidders for 1GW offshore wind farm
Oil majors, green energy giants and investment firms are among six parties pre-qualified to bid for the project off the Normandy coast
Iberdrola plans French offshore wind build around fishing
Iberdrola-owned Ailes Marines will start St Brieuc construction in May – a schedule chosen to appease the local fishing community
Baltic Insight report: Overcoming ice challenges
Installing and maintaining offshore turbines to cope with icy conditions poses additional difficulties for wind technicians
Nordex wind turbine orders fall in first quarter of 2021
The German manufacturer recorded a slump in orders in the first three months of the year, with totals down in both Europe and Latin America
Nordex wins Arctic Circle order for Delta 4000 wind turbines
Seventeen of Nordex's N163/5.X turbines will be adapted for cold climates and deployed at Wpd’s Nuolivaara wind farm in Finland
Iberdrola to make green hydrogen at Whitelee wind farm
The Spanish company’s Scottish subsidiary plans to use the Whitelee wind farm and new solar and battery capacity to produce hydrogen
Google-contracted Swedish site sees another crane crash
Wind farm developer Treblade reports no injuries or construction delays after auxiliary crane overturns at Björkvattnet wind farm
Seven 100MW-plus wind farms brought online in March
Windpower Intelligence recorded several large onshore wind farms being commissioned in the US, India and New Zealand last month
Partner content
Driving real competitive advantage through the use of digital technology in O&M
Does the key to cutting O&M costs lie in improving the efficiency of technicians and the use of digital technologies? Read this Windpower Monthly & LexX Technologies Report to find out...
LexX Technologies
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Ingeteam introduces new-generation power converters
Ingeteam’s market-leading converters are supported by a robust Firmware development methodology designed to simplify wind turbine converter validation and certification
Webinar: Why accurate energy assessments are so important to the wind industry
Currently, the biggest barriers to accurate energy assessments are the lack of transparency and standardisation in calculating expected performance. So what’s the answer? Tune into this webinar to find out!