July
Windpower Monthly looks at ten of the biggest and best turbine manufacturers. Each company's strategy and turbine portfolio is analysed to discover what makes them a leading OEM.
Siemens wins a UK High Court case against Enercon in a patent dispute. Enercon-owner Wobben Properties argued Siemens' storm control system found in its 6MW offshore turbines infringed upon its 1996 patent.
Windpower Monthly is shown around the Blade Dynamics facility in New Orleans, where the company was putting the finishing touches to its 78-metre modular blade prototype. The blade would be shipped to the UK in August for testing at the ORE Catapult test site in Blyth.
August
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries installs its 7MW turbine on a floating platform off Fukushima, Japan. The rotor's hub stands 105 meters above sea level, and the topmost height of the turbine is 188.5 metres.
The US Department of Energy (DoE) releases figures showing the price of wind had fallen 66% since 2009 to a record low of $0.02/kWh. Wind turbine prices fell 20-40% since 2008 and projects built in 2014 had an average installed cost of $1,710/kW, nearly $600 less per kilowatt than during the peak in 2009 and 2010.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' 7MW turbine on a floating platform off Japan
September
Ahead of the Husum Wind 2015 event, taking place in Germany in September, Windpower Monthly gets an exclusive look at Vestas' new V136-3.45MW low-wind turbine. The latest edition of the platform incorporated a new 66.7-metre blade and a wider and taller tower, suitable for low wind conditions.
Vestas' turbine is one of four new low-wind turbines in the 3MW+ range to be launched at Husum Wind 2015. GE's 3.2MW-130, Nordex's N131 3.3MW, and Senvion's 3.4MW with a 140-metre rotor are all launched at the event in Germany.
October
GE announces the surprise takeover of component manufacturer Blade Dynamics. "Modular blades offer scalable blade architecture, enabling lower-cost manufacturing methods and a more cost-effective long-term solution for logistics challenges associated with transporting current blade technology," GE said.
Germany's Nordex announces it will acquire Spanish manufacturer Acciona Windpower (AWP). In the €785 million deal, stock-listed Nordex acquires AWP for €366 million cash and 16.6 million in Nordex shares (valued at €419 million). AWP becomes a subsidiary of Nordex. In return, Spain's stock-listed Acciona Group becomes Nordex's single biggest shareholder, with a 29.9% stake.
Turbine blades are transported to the 2.9km peak of Baoding mountain in China
November
GE completes its acquisition of Alstom's power and grid business, following the €12.35 billion agreement announced in 2014. The final purchase now amounts to €9.7 billion, due to changes to the deal and currency exchange rates, according to GE.
Windpower Monthly's gallery features transport firm Hongkong CIMC International delivering 90 wind turbine blades to the top of Baoding mountain, 2,900m high, in the Chinese province of Yunnan.
Vestas launches the second evolution of its 3MW turbine platform at the EWEA 2015 event in Paris. Nominal rating for the four existing models raises from 3.3MW to 3.45MW, and they have been upgraded in terms of IEC Class too.
December
Vattenfall begins decommissioning of its 14-year old Yttre Stengrund 10MW offshore project in Sweden. The 14-year old Swedish offshore project uses five 2MW Neg Micon turbines although only one turbine was in operation when th edecision to dismantle the project was taken in September 2014. Decommissioning is deemed the most economical option.
Preliminary results of an investigation into a turbine collapse in France indicates a fault in the machine's shaft caused the rotor to fall to the ground. On 10 November, the rotor sheared off a Repower MD77-1500kW turbine at Menil-la-Horgne, in the Meuse department of north-east France.
Vestas acquires US project service provider UpWind Solutions in a $60 million deal.
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