World Wind Watch | Green Energy News

December 18, 2005 – Vol.10 No.39

WORLD WIND WATCH.

If the marriage gets regulatory approval the merger of FPL Group, of Juno Beach, Florida and Constellation Energy, of Baltimore, Maryland will create the nation’s largest competitive energy supplier and the second-largest utility.

This impressive $28 billion company will also, because of FPL’s current power generating portfolio, be the largest wind energy owner in the United States. So, the nation’s largest competitive energy supplier will also be the largest wind energy supplier. Not bad, and something they could use in touting their greenness.

Of the 7727 megawatts of wind energy capacity in the U.S. (as of the end of September 2005, DOE) FPL now owns 3210.7 megawatts or 41.5 percent. Wind power makes up 26 percent of FPL’s generation portfolio. Constellation owns no wind generating capacity.

In addition to the wind energy, together the companies will have nearly 880 megawatts of renewable capacity which includes hydro, biomass, waste-to-energy and more than 150 megawatts of solar thermal power generation.

The new company will use the Constellation Energy name which came from the 1797 wind-driven U.S. Navy frigate Constellation built in Baltimore. The power of the wind has a long history in the city. FPL’s continuing interest in wind power and renewables in general should carry into the new corporation. Visit FPL Group at http://www.fplgroup.com/ and Constellation at http://www.constellation.com/ .

Since July 2005, DeWind, a German manufacturer of utility-grade wind turbines, has been owned by EU Energy plc, based in the U.K. EU Energy has big plans for its new company which includes setting up manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and India under license agreements.

Though nothing is firm, the first products would come from DeWind’s line of turbines ranging from 1.25 -2.6 megawatts. Further along is the possibility of a new generation of turbine towers made of plastic composites and new method of erecting turbines and towers. Combined, the plastic composite towers and the onsite assembly technique could allow turbines to be raised to higher altitudes (for stronger winds) than now possible. The rust-free composite towers would be available for offshore use as well where corrosion is always a problem.

EU Energy also has another technology under its hat: a small wind power generation system that could be fitted to the ridgeline of a building’s roof. Snug along the ridge a row of turbines, protected by cover and screening, could capture breezes as they accelerate and compress along the slope of the roof.

The company already has announced that their wholly owned subsidiary EU Energy Wind Limited (EU Wind) has entered into an agreement with Indowind Energy Limited (Indowind) for the purchase of 300 MW of wind turbines for delivery beginning in early 2007. The turbines will be manufactured in India under a partnership to be known as BeWind Power Ltd. The turbines will be re-branded with the change of one letter: DeWind to BeWind.

EU Energy is also in formal discussions with Composite Technology Corporation (CTC) of the U.S. that could lead to an investment in EU Energy’s U.S. division by CTC. That investment, in turn, could lead to the production of DeWind turbines in the U.S. Visit CTC at http://www.compositetechcorp.com/ and Eu Energy at http://www.eunrg.com/