The Hunton Willimans Ridgeline wind project in Idaho

Hunton & Williams LLP has acted as project counsel for renewable energy development company Exergy Development Group LLC in partnership with GE Energy Financial Services, Reunion Power, and Atlantic Power Corporation to invest in Idaho’s largest wind power project. All three companies made equity investments in the nearly half-billion-dollar portfolio of 11 wind farms developed by Exergy.

“This is a significant project for renewable energy development and for Idaho. The project underscores Exergy’s core values of supporting the environment while developing power generation projects,” says Raj Pande, partner in the firm’s energy and project finance practice, who led the Hunton & Williams team.

Hunton & Williams LLC

hunton.com

Equipment and devices jointly developed will form key components of an intelligent grid system. “Smart grid R&D is critical to transforming Singapore into a smart energy economy and the Center is important infrastructure that will bring us a step closer to realizing an intelligent national energy grid,” says Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman, A-STAR. “Innovation and development of energy technologies are vital to the growth of the global smart grid industry, which is expected to be worth $187 billion by 2015.

The center will accommodate a range of R&D activities in areas such as intelligent grids, integration of renewable power generation and vehicle to grid systems, and the development of new generation energy management systems. When completed in 2011, it will be the first experimental smart grid research facility of its kind in Southeast Asia.

The wind tower section is protected with a shrinkable, three-layer fabric from Transfield Inc.

Custom fit covers for wind tower sections are available as an alternative to heavy and expensive custom tarps or conventional hand wrapping.  These covers protect the tower sections from dirt and water during shipping.  Various openings are allowed for different trailer configurations.

The covers are made from Shrinkable Fabric and consist of three layers: a UV-resistant and anti-condensation outer layer, a middle adhesive layer, and a soft inner layer. Covers are easy to install and the added ability to shrink the cover allows for a tight fit, resulting in protection from the factory to the field.

Transfield Inc.

www.transfield-usa.com

PacifiCorp, which does business as Rocky Mountain Power in Wyoming, recently executed two power purchase agreements for all of the electrical output and renewable energy attributes generated by each wind project. Each contract has a term of 20 years. Rocky Mountain Power will use the energy produced by each project to meet the growing needs of retail customers in Wyoming and the other states the company serves.

The obligation for Rocky Mountain Power to purchase energy from each project, and the rates at which Rocky Mountain Power will purchase that energy, was the result of a Wyoming Public Service Commission proceeding addressing federally required power purchases under the 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act.

The first project located at the Pioneer Wind Park is expected to begin commercial operations by the end of 2011, with the second project following a year later. The infrastructure will be located within the approximately 30,000 acres of the Pioneer Wind Park. Specific locations will be determined as Wasatch Wind continues to collect wind data; survey wildlife and cultural resources; conduct environmental reviews; partner with state and local officials and governments; work with engineering and construction companies to design the wind energy facilities; gather feedback from the community; and obtain the necessary permits, including from Wyoming’s Industrial Siting Council and Converse County.

Projects located at the Pioneer Wind Park will connect to an existing Rocky Mountain Power transmission line via an interconnection agreement compliant with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rules. The projects will transmit power to Rocky Mountain Power’s existing transmission system over a generation tie-line across private lands already under lease. All facilities up to the point of interconnection with Rocky Mountain Power’s transmission system will be the responsibility of Wasatch Wind.

“We very much look forward to working with Converse County and its towns and cities, the State of Wyoming and the public to bring these projects online and to ensure that the local areas continue to benefit over the long-term,” stated Tracy Livingston, CEO and Founder of Wasatch Wind. “We are dedicated to continue working with all members of the community to gather feedback so that we can ensure that any impacts from the projects are fully reviewed and considered and that Converse County and its citizens can benefit from the significant contributions that the two projects located at the Pioneer Wind Park will be able to make.”

Developer First Wind will include power storage and controls to better balance the power output from its wind project on Ohau.

A developer of power-storage equipment for utility-scale tasks will supply a 15 MVA, 10 MWh battery and power-management controls for the Kahuku Wind Project on Oahu. This marks the second Hawaiian project for which Xtreme Power, Kyle, Texas (xtremepowerinc.com) has supplied equipment. The groundbreaking follows the company’s first commercial pilot at the Kaheawa Wind Project on Maui. The latest wind project, 30 MW from 20 GE wind turbines, is supported by a 1.5-MW Xtreme Power energy storage and power-management system. Results from the Maui project demonstrated the ability of Xtreme Power’s equipment to control ramp rates (up and down) during changes in wind conditions, and to simultaneously store surplus wind power for redeployment during times of peak demand. Both projects are owned by First Wind in Honolulu.

“This marks the second project in which we’ve chosen Xtreme Power as a key partner to help us deliver reliable wind power for the residents of Hawaii,” says First Wind CEO Paul Gaynor. “Hawaii has a huge natural resource in wind and together with Xtreme Power, we are able to effectively deliver that power.”

Overall, Xtreme Power says the project on Maui has demonstrated an ability to:

• Reduce power variability by more than 95%
• Mitigate the issues associated with wind turbine trips and overloads, delivering consistent power to the grid, and
• Effectively store and deliver surplus power.

The 10-MWh storage is possible thanks to capabilities in Xtreme Power’s PowerCells, individual 12 V, 1 kWh, advanced dry-cell batteries that use an unconventional solid-state chemistry. The cell’s characteristics allow assembling thousands in massive parallel and series matrices, ideal for use in large-scale utility applications requiring hundreds of MW while maintaining a manageable footprint. Low internal resistance results in a capability to rapidly charge and discharge large amounts of power.

Workers at the Vestas blade plant in Windsor, Colo., discuss production issues.

Vestas says it has created more than 1,000 highly skilled manufacturing jobs to meet growing production needs at its three Colorado factories. The Vestas’ blade factory in Windsor, tower factory in Pueblo, and nacelle factory in Brighton have been hiring to fill a variety of new jobs to prepare for several recently announced orders.

• Vestas Blades in Windsor now employs 650 people in areas such as engineering, purchasing, human resources, finance, administration, and production. The factory was hiring as of July 15, 2010, and looking for production and electro-mechanical workers.

• Vestas Towers in Pueblo — the largest wind tower manufacturing facility in the world — has filled more than 180 new positions in the past few months, bringing the total to 283 employees. The tower factory continues its ramp up and seeks skilled workers in areas including plasma cutting, welding, and painting. The tower factory will recruit at the Southern Colorado Jobs and Career Fair at the Pueblo Convention Center on July 22, 2010.

• Vestas Nacelles in Brighton, which opened July 7, 2010, employs more than 280 workers. Jobs there have included technicians, logistics personnel, production engineers, quality engineers, planners and team leaders.

According to Martha Wyrsch, president of Vestas-American Wind Technology Inc., the factories have been hiring but with care in response to a number of announced orders in the United States and Canada. This includes a 250-MW order placed by Enbridge/Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES Americas) for 139 V90-1.8 MW turbines for the Cedar Point Wind project in Colorado’s Lincoln, Elbert, and Arapahoe counties.

“This latest order in Colorado is especially significant because it is local,” says Wyrsch. “With this order, we will deliver local product — manufactured by a highly skilled, well-trained local workforce — that will be used to build the second-largest wind project in the state.”

“Vestas is employing people in many desirable jobs ranging from engineering to welding to painting,” says Anthony Knopp, VP for Vestas Towers America. “We have taken advantage of the downturn to hire a number of highly skilled employees who have been turned loose from other industries. We’ve hired all functions related to tower building including steel fabricators, finishers, welders, assemblers, and maintenance personnel.”

Vestas says that In Colorado, as is true elsewhere throughout the company’s global manufacturing operations, employees receive exceptional benefits and opportunities for professional training and development, as well as competitive wages. “The company pays 100% of the premiums for health-care coverage for its employees and their families making our health and wellness program more competitive than almost all other employers in the market,” says Gary Held, manager of People & Culture for the new nacelle factory. “Vestas offers an employee educational assistance program, four weeks of annual vacation, and a range of other benefits designed to enhance health, wellness, and career and job satisfaction. We believe this attracts and retains the best talent in Colorado.”

In addition to direct jobs created by the company, a number of indirect jobs can be attributed to its growth in Colorado, including more than 2,500 construction jobs that helped build the three factories and hundreds of service industry jobs that have recently seen a boost in areas such as security, sanitation and maintenance, food and beverage supply, and tooling and fixturing.

“We are taking the approach that it is important to build the communities in which our employees live and work, and this means we need to have a big picture view of jobs,” says Wyrsch. “With that in mind, we are exploring opportunities with businesses neighboring our factories. We are encouraging suppliers to build the wind industry’s North American supply chain that will help create even more jobs for the wind business.”

A NY state-based community wind company has completed its largest project to date, a 2 MW wind turbine at the University of Delaware’s Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes.  The  project, assisted by Sustainable Energy Developments Inc (SED), in Ontario, NY, created the first community wind turbine in the state and combines university level research, as part of the university’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment (CEOE), with the financial, energy and environmental benefits of wind power.

The project completed in early June 2010 following the commissioning and electrical interconnection of a 2-MW Gamesa wind turbine.  The culmination of the project was celebrated at a ribbon cutting ceremony.

The university’s CEOE Dean, Nancy Targett, began her pursuit of a wind project in March of 2008 when she hired SED to perform an economic and technical assessment of the Lewes campus. The company helped define the college’s opportunity and convinced university officials to develop the project. SED was then tasked with protecting the interest of the university and guiding the project through the development stages.  The company’s assistance included permitting, detailed engineering, turbine procurement negotiations, electrical interconnection, construction, and commissioning.  SED also provided assistance in fulfilling the requirements of the National Environmental Protection Act necessary to secure federal funding support for the wind turbine.

Robin Rigg offshore wind farm, on the coast of North Cumbria, UK has a total site capacity of 180 MW, 60 Vestas 3 MW turbine.

The lidar can take 50 data points of wind speed every second and at five user-defined heights. It is deployed 12 km out to sea at Robin Rigg, on one of its 132-kV substation structures. Natural Power and energy service firm E.ON, based in Louisville, Kentucky, have tested a communications interface for the lider, which will let a data server collect live data transmitted by the device.

Natural Power

naturalpower.com

Once the turbines reach their operating altitude, they will fly in a circular path tethered by a ground cable. The motors will shift to generator mode and send power down the tether cable.  If the turbines experience insufficient wind, they will be powered to land safely.

The airborne wind turbine, with characteristics close to a box kite, is still in its planning stages.

The company says the airborne wind turbine has four main components. The turbine blades will be a design that provides thrust for ascent and torque for power generation. The motor-generators will not need gearboxes. Third, the tether, the turbine’s mechanical connection to the ground, will transmit high-voltage power to a grid. Lastly, Joby says the airframe will easily transport and scale.

The company says the turbine will result in significant costs savings because it uses only 5% of the materials required for a conventional turbine. The initial concept is rated at 2 MW. A virtual lab on the company’s Web site lets viewers see an animated flight of the concept.

http://www.jobyenergy.com/tech

The firm adds that the U.S. Treasury Department recently released additional guidance on its website regarding the “begin construction” requirement for qualifying for the 30% ARRA cash grant. To qualify for the grant, a project must either be placed in service in 2009 or 2010 or, if construction begins on or before December 31, 2010, must be placed in service by a specified credit termination date (December 31, 2012 for large wind projects; December 31, 2013 forbiomass, certain geothermal and other projects; and December 31, 2016 for solar and other projects).

In July 2009, the Treasury Department issued guidance providing that the requirement could be satisfied either by beginning “physical work of a significant nature” in 2009 or 2010, or paying or incurring at least 5% of the total cost of the specified energy property before the end of 2010 (the “5% safe harbor”). In March 2010, the Treasury Department revised its published guidance to clarify a number of issues regarding the begin construction requirement. Today’s guidance, which was issued in the form of a list of questions and answers, is intended to provide clarification regarding a number of issues.

Some of the more interesting issues regarding “physical work of a significant nature” that are addressed in the guidance are:

• Any physical work on specified energy property will be treated as beginning construction, even if the work relates to only a small part of the facility.
• The Treasury Department will scrutinize long delays in construction activity that may indicate the lack of a continuous program of construction or contractual obligations to complete work within a reasonable time (other than delays beyond the control of the developer, such as weather).
• Starting construction of roads that are integral to the qualified facility may constitute physical work of a significant nature.
• Work performed under a contract does not include work to produce components or parts that are in existing inventory or are normally held in inventory by a manufacturer.
• Physical work of a significant nature can be considered to have begun even if a specific site for a project has not been identified at the time of the initial application.

Some of the issues regarding the 5% safe harbor that are addressed in the guidance include:

• A cost will not be considered “incurred” by an accrual-method taxpayer until “economic performance” has occurred. This generally requires that the property be provided to the applicant. Thus, amounts paid as prepayments or deposits by an accrual-method applicant generally will not count toward the 5% threshold.
• Property is considered “provided” to an applicant either when title passes to the applicant or when it is delivered to or accepted by the applicant. In addition, property that the applicant reasonably expects to be provided within 3 1/2 months of the end of 2010 will be considered incurred within 2010.
• The guidance clarifies a number of issues relating to how costs paid by a manufacturer on an applicant’s behalf pursuant to a binding written contract can be counted toward the 5% threshold.
• An applicant must pay or incur 5% of the total project costs to qualify for the safe harbor. If actual costs exceed estimates, the applicant will not qualify unless it has paid or incurred 5% of the actual costs. An applicant may, however, apply for the grant based on fewer than all of the units of a multi-unit facility if doing so causes the applicant to meet the 5% threshold.

The guidance also addresses procedural issues regarding the “begin construction” requirement:

• If a project is placed in service before October 1, 2011, only one application should be filed demonstrating both that construction began in 2009 or 2010 and that the project has been placed in service.
• If a project is placed in service after October 1, 2011, the applicant must submit a preliminary application by October 1, 2011 showing that construction began in 2009 or 2010. The preliminary application must be supplemented at the time the project is placed in service. The Treasury Department will confirm in writing that physical work of a significant nature has occurred or that qualifying costs have been incurred toward the 5% safe harbor, but will not confirm that other requirements have been met.
• The guidance explains what documents must be provided to establish either that physical work of a significant nature began in 2009 or 2010 or that the 5% safe harbor was satisfied.

Stoel Rives adds that much of the guidance confirmed what practitioners, developers, and investors have understood to be the rules since the original guidance was issued. Some of the clarification will provide reassurance to developers and investors