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Vestas’ Mediterranean boss on potential in southern Europe
Vestas president for the Mediterranean region sees good growth prospects in the area if red tape is removed. Floating offshore beckons, too
Latest news
Plans for 1GW-plus offshore wind farm with 20MW turbines
Norwegian developer unveils plans for a giant offshore wind farm that would use both fixed-bottom foundations and floating platforms
Swedish mega-project reaches financial close
Three-lender consortium lends €300 million to 372MW Björnberget wind farm in northern Sweden. The project is due online in 2022
Texas freeze and lower European winds hit RWE in Q1
RWE faced a roughly €400m hit to earnings in its onshore wind and solar unit due to the Texas cold snap and subsequent blackouts
Floating wind pilot could power Canadian oil and gas drilling
Saitec secures a government grant for a feasibility study into using floating offshore wind to power oil and gas drilling in Canada
Norwegian wind industry slams retroactive tax on production
Norwegian rules introducing a production tax from 2022 on new and existing wind farms risks derailing the sector, industry body warns
Vineyard set to become first large US offshore wind farm
Government grants final go-ahead after lengthy federal review and public consultation on the project’s environmental impact
GE and Toshiba to manufacture Haliade-X in Japan
The two technology giants team up to produce and commercialise the 12-14MW Haliade-X as Japan’s offshore wind sector prepares for launch
Taiwan ups offshore wind goal with plans to auction 15GW
The Taiwanese government releases plans to auction 15GW of new offshore wind capacity due online between 2026 and 2035
Local content to drive BP and EnBW's ScotWind bid
Prospective bidders in Scotland’s first offshore wind leasing round in more than a decade look to local supply chain companies
Nordex sees waning pandemic impact but rising cost pressures
Nordex CEO José Luis Blanco remains confident for 2021 despite a year-on-year fall in operating profit and orders in Q1 2021
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Long reads
How wind power thrived in a year like no other
The first in our three-part market status report finds that despite the coronavirus pandemic, some wind markets came up trumps
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
How Siemens Gamesa’s offshore turbines hit 97% availability
SGRE’s technology chief on enhancing reliability, reducing downtime and the possibility of working with other OEMs
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
Technology
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
Enercon uses self-climbing crane to install EP5 turbines
Proof-of-concept shows that second-generation self-climbing LCC140 crane can install complete 4-5MW-plus EP5 turbines
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
Business and finance
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
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
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
Opinion: Hurdles ahead, but US will get there on offshore wind
With a president prepared to put resources and talent into offshore wind, the US is ready to get serious about creating its own industry
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
UK urged to target 30GW onshore wind by 2030
RenewableUK calls for onshore wind and green hydrogen capacity targets to help the country’s move towards its net zero by 2050 goal
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
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
Project development
IEA: 2020 pace of renewable additions the 'new normal'
The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports accelerating growth for renewables capacity as climate targets begin to accumulate
Repsol starts building 860MW Spanish onshore wind cluster
The Delta II project will help the oil major move towards its target of having 7.5GW of “low-carbon emission generation capacity” by 2025
Massachusetts launches 1.6GW offshore wind tender
The new tender has a bid deadline of September 2021 and could nearly double the state’s offshore wind pipeline
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
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
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
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
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
Partner content
How the UK offshore wind industry can deliver 40GW by 2030
Read on for tips and analysis shared by environmental, energy and offshore experts during an Windpower Monthly-ENDS Report roundtable discussion
Pegasus & WBD
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
