World Wind Watch | Green Energy News

November 21, 2004 – Vol.9 No.35

WORLD WIND WATCH.

Obviously wind energy is the big success story in renewable energy in terms of power generating capacity. The good news continues.

The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) says that wind farms covering an area the size of Greece (150,000 square kilometers) could provide enough power to meet all of Europe's electricity demands - eventually.

In the near future the EWEA says that 5.5 percent of demand could be met with 75 gigawatts of wind capacity by 2010. Ten gigawatts of that would be offshore. Visit the EWEA at http://www.ewea.org/ .

The British Wind Energy Association is predicting that there will be GBP 7 billion ($13 billion) in new investment in wind energy for the U.K. by 2010.

This year 10 new wind projects were commissioned in the U.K. totaling 240 megawatts capacity (The year’s not done yet, either. There will be two more projects online in the next month.)

In 2004 there were 33 projects approved with a potential of 800 megawatts capacity. There are also 94 more projects in the planning stages that would represent 4767 megawatts capacity - 5 percent of the nation’s electricity needs.

By 2010 there could be 7500 megawatts of wind capacity in the UK, half onshore, half off, for 7.5 percent of the nation’s needs.

The U.K. government has set a goal of 10 percent of the nation’s energy to come from renewables by 2010. Wind is on its way to provide most of that. Visit the BWEA at http://www.bwea.com/ .

In the U.S., the state of Pennsylvania could have 3600 megawatts of wind energy capacity by 2016 according to Platt’s Analytics group. The state’s newly passed Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act (AEPSA), which requires 18 percent of the state’s electric power to be generated from alternative sources by 2020, will foster the construction of the new wind capacity.

The 3600 megawatts - if built - will join the the current 129 megawatts already built in the state. Platt's is a division of McGraw-Hill publishing and considered a leader in energy information. Visit Platt's at http://www.platts.com/ .

Renewable energy firm EHN has announced further plans for an offshore wind farm to built in waters off the coast of Spain where the Battle of Trafalgar took place.

The project would have a capacity of between 600 and 1000 megawatts and would be built in waters 30 meters deep.

There is some opposition to the project because of the historic significance of the site. It’s considered a grave for the 449 British and 4408 French and Spanish seamen that died there in 1805.

EHN would like to begin construction in 2007 and aim for completion by 2010. The EUR 1.5 billion ($1.96 billion) project will be Spain's first offshore wind project. Visit EHN at http://www.ehn.es/ .

U.S. based GE Energy continues to fill its order books for wind turbines as well as complete projects.

The company has announced it will provide 42, 1.5- megawatt turbines - 63 megawatts capacity - to four separately owned, but geographically united projects in Italy. The projects will be built in Troia located 180 kilometers northeast of Naples. Italy has set its sights on producing 2400 megawatts of wind capacity by the end of 2008.

The company, too, has completed the installation of 198 GE 1.5-megawatt wind turbines for projects across the Castilla La Mancha region of central Spain

With a total installed capacity of 297 megawatts, the turbines were installed in groups of 33 at six separate, but connected, sites.

In another project in Spain GE has completed the installation of 12, 1.5 megawatt turbines at a project near the town of Salas in the Bodenaya mountain range.

Spain has a goal to increase its wind power capacity to 20,000 megawatts of capacity by year 2010. As of the end of 2003 Spain was the second largest producer of wind energy with 6420 megawatts of capacity built. (Germany was tallied then as first with 14,612 megawatts installed.

GE Wind Turbines are built or assembled in the U.S., Germany or Spain. Visit GE Energy at http://www.gewind.com/ .

Following a Request for Proposals in June of 2004 for approximately 300 megawatts of new renewable capacity to be built in Ontario, Canada, the province’s energy ministry has approved 10 projects for construction, most of them wind.

Totaling 355 megawatts Superior Wind Energy, Erie Shores Wind Farm, Canadian Hydro Developers, Epcor Utilities will all be building projects.

The remaining green power will be from two small hydroelectric plants that together will produce 31 megawatts. An additional 7.5 megawatts will come from from two landfill gas projects.

The Ontario government is also planning another RFP for an additional 1000 megawatts of new renewable capacity. Visit the Ontario Ministry of Energy at http://www.energy.gov.on.ca/ .