World Wind Watch | Green Energy News

September 26, 2004 – Vol.9 No.27

WORLD WIND WATCH.

The relatively shallow, often windy waters surrounding Europe seem ideal for offshore wind development. Today there are nearly 600 megawatts of installed offshore capacity there, but by 2020 the European Wind Energy Association, backed by its member companies, have set a target of 70 gigawatts of installed offshore wind in 16 years.

Governments in the region, though not as optimistic as the trade association, have set ambitious goals for offshore wind too. Combined, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the UK, Ireland, France, the Netherlands and Belgium are aiming for 50 gigawatts capacity installed in the next 25 years.

The EWEA believes that 150,000 square kilometers of open sea with water depths of less than 35 meters could supply enough power to satisfy all of Europe's electricity demand. Visit the EWEA at http://www.ewea.org/ .

The wind turbine with the greatest generating capacity on the planet - Repower’s 5M - will be ready for the expected boom in offshore wind development. Now installed at a test site in Brunsbuettel, Germany (adjacent to a nuclear power station) the prototype 5-megawatt turbine will be connected to the power grid in the next few weeks.

The 5M has a rotor diameter of 126 meters. It will provide rated output at rotor speeds of 6.9 to 12.1 revolutions per minute. Visit Repower at http://www.repower.de/ .

GE has announced that with the completion of ENEL’s Littigheddu project in Sardinia, Italy, 2500 of the company’s 1.5 megawatt turbine have been installed worldwide.

Now the workhorse of the fleet, the first 1.5 turbine was installed in April 1996 when GE’s wind division was known as Enron Wind. The turbine now comes in a variety of rotor diameters, hub heights, and a special cold weather package which allows the turbine to operate in a variety of wind and climate regimes. Visit GE Wind Energy at http://www.gewind.com/ .

Canada, with significant wind resources, has yet to build large-scale wind capacity. Abundant hydropower and fossil fuel resources have negated the need.

Large scale wind capacity may be around the corner. Sea Breeze Power Corporation has been issued a British Columbia Environmental Assessment Certificate - a legal environmental go-ahead - for the company’s proposed Knob Hill Wind Farm for the northern tip of Vancouver Island.

The site, near Port Hardy, will initially have 33 turbines of 3-megawatt capacity, but the approval will allow up to 450 megawatts to be installed as per Sea Breeze’s long range plan for the site. Visit Sea Breeze at http://www.seabreezepower.com/ .