Renewable Energy News

SheerWind announced field tests of multiple turbines used in a row or series has even greater electrical power output. The INVELOX system, a new concept in wind power generation, is a large funnel that captures, concentrates, and accelerates wind before delivering it to turbines located at ground level. By placing 2 turbines in a series in an INVELOX system, power showed an increase of 1.7X when compared to single turbine.

The Keeyask Hydropower Limited Partnership (KHLP) broke ground on the 695-MW Keeyask Generating Station in northern Manitoba. The project is a collaborative effort between Manitoba Hydro and four Manitoba First Nations - Tataskweyak Cree Nation, War Lake First Nation, York Factory First Nation, and Fox Lake Cree Nation - working together as the KHLP. Manitoba Hydro provides administration and management services for KHLP and will own at least 75 per cent of the equity of the partnership.

NextEra Energy Partners’ Bluewater Wind Energy Center in Huron County, Ontario has begun commercial operation. The project is comprised of 37 turbines and capable of generating up to 60-MW of electricity. The Bluewater Wind Energy Center is owned by Bluewater Wind, LP, an indirect subsidiary of NextEra Energy Canada Partners Holdings.

Siemens Energy secured an order for a total capacity of 36 MW in Nordfriesland, Germany. Siemens is to supply twelve direct-drive wind turbines, eleven model SWT-3.0-113 and one model SWT-3.0-101 turbine, for the Süderlügum publicly-operated wind farm. Siemens has also been contracted for a 20-year service and maintenance agreement. Süderlügum has the ability to utilize renewable energy sources during calm weather by the "Reactive Power at No Wind" technology from Siemens.

The city of Palmdale announced the completion of an aggregate 976-kW DC solar generation project. Located at Palmdale's Civic Center, DryTown Water Park and Marie Kerr Park, the system is designed to generate more than 1,580 MW-hours of electricity per year and meet nearly 70 percent of the electricity needs for the three sites. Constellation financed the project's development and will own and operate the system.

PSEG Solar Source acquired the El Paso Solar Energy Center, a 13-MW solar energy facility near El Paso, TX from juwi solar (JSI). The project was originally developed by JSI and has a 30-year PPA with El Paso Electric.The $22 million acquisition will increase PSEG's Solar Source's portfolio capacity to 106 MW. JSI is the EPC contractor for the project and will operate the project for PSEG Solar Source upon completion. Construction has already commenced and is expected to be completed by year's end. The project will use JA solar panels.

The Department of Energy (DOE) took the first step toward issuing a $150 million loan guarantee to support the construction of the Cape Wind offshore wind project with a conditional commitment to Cape Wind Associates. If constructed, the project would be the first commercial-scale offshore wind facility in the U.S., with a capacity of more than 360 MW of clean energy off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

SunEdison completed its acquisition of a 50% ownership stake in Silver Ridge Power (SRP) from a subsidiary of AES for approximately $178.6 million in cash. Through its ownership in the SRP joint venture, SunEdison now owns a 50% interest in 36 MW of solar power plant operating projects, including the 266-MW Mt. Signal solar project in California, and a 40% interest in the Tenaska Imperial Solar Energy Center West 183-MW solar power facility to be completed in 2016.

EDF Renewable Energy’s 61- MW Spinning Spur II Wind Project in Texas has reached commercial operation. Spinning Spur II commenced construction of 87 GE 1.85-MW, 87-meter rotor wind turbines 40 miles west of Amarillo in June 2013. The power is sold pursuant to an 11-year purchase agreement. The project is one of the first to feed into the new CREZ (Competitive Renewable Energy Zone) transmission infrastructure.

First Solar received board approval from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government's development finance institution, and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, for financing to support construction of the 141-MW Luz del Norte solar power plant in Chile's Atacama Desert. The loans, which are expected to close later this summer, clear the way for First Solar to proceed with construction planning at the site, which is near the city of Copiapo. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.