-NSK

Machines that manufacture advanced wind turbines and towers depend a lot on conventional yet also advanced manufacturing methods, such as welding. One welding-machine manufacturer recently called on a linear motion and assembly-technology company to help improve custom welding machines for the wind industry. Such welding equipment is used to build turbine towers up to 100-m high.

Typically, a machine rolls a metal plate, often 709 grade 50 carbon steel. into a cylinder called a “can” that measures about 9-ft long by 8 to 15-ft dia. Another machine then welds along longitudinal seams to complete the can and then circumferentially to join them with multi-pass butt welds made by submerged arc welding.

The weld head is suspended from a cantilevered guide rail for outside welding. Most of the machine is stationary while the weld head moves short distances on two and three axes, both along and across a seam. A linear control actuator at the end of a horizontal arm determines the motion of the weld head. Smaller can sections are welded on a large assembly line, called a growing line.

Welding procedures and consumables can vary based on tower requirements for height, design, and location.

After assembling the sections and adding internal tower equipment, such as ladders, they are transported to the installation site, lifted into place, and bolted together.

Welding requirements for offshore tower construction are impacted by the tower’s large size and associated nacelles, as well as the thicker steel required for strength and fatigue resistance. Joining thicker steel sections with larger weld joints requires using a greater volume of welding consumables, thus requiring additional welding passes. This adds time and cost to the job.

Fabricating towers capable of resisting extreme environmental conditions requires thicker plate, or higher-strength steel, or both along with higherstrength weld deposits. Welding such material requires welding procedures and filler metal with a chemical composition that delivers the same mechanical properties in the weld deposit.

Using consumables intended for offshore towers minimizes the associated welding problems, such as cracking. Submerged arc-welding flux and electrodes have been developed to provide the strength and impact properties required for onshore and offshore towers, including the more rigorous requirements of coldclimate towers.

A recent welder is said to give operators the flexibility to control every aspect of the welding output to provide the best results for an application. Enhanced control over the welding waveform let operators weld at significantly higher deposition rates than comparable conventional power sources, thereby improving weld productivity and reducing costs. In addition, multiple power sources can be used to weld with multiple arcs to increase deposition rates and reduce the number of passes required to fill the joint. This decreases production time and consumables, contributing to lower overall wind project costs.

Windpower Engineering & Development

Summary of treatment

• For rooftop Installations, the assessment and tax classification of property will not change due to the addition of a renewable energy installation on the rooftop of a building.
• For ground Installations, the property tax treatment depends on the size and location of the facility as well as who is conducting the generation, as outlined here: The following rules apply where energy generation is conducted by a person who is not ordinarily in the business of electricity generation, transmission or distribution, and where the generation is ancillary to another activity on the same property.

Small-size ground installations with a generation capacity up to 10 kW will not experience an increase in assessment or a change in tax classification.

Medium-size ground installations with a generation capacity over 10 kW and up to 500 kW will be taxed based on the surrounding land use (e.g. residential, farm, multiresidential, commercial).

Large-size ground installations with a generation capacity over 500 kW will be taxed based on the surrounding land use for the proportion of assessment up to 500 kW, and at the industrial rate for the proportion over 500 kW. For example, if a 560 kW wind tower is located on multi-residential property, the assessment of the wind tower and associated land would be apportioned 89% to the multi-residential tax class and 11 per cent to the industrial tax class.

• For On-Farm Anaerobic Digestion: Organic materials in an enclosed vessel are broken down by micro-organisms, in the absence of oxygen. Anaerobic digestion produces biogas (primarily of methane and carbon dioxide). Anaerobic digestion systems are also often referred to as “biogas systems.” Anaerobic digestion facilities of size that are located on a farm and are operated by the farmer will be taxed at the farm rate.
• For generation by corporate power producers, consistent with historic treatment, these facilities operated by entities whose primary business is the generation, transmission, or distribution of electricity (“corporate power producers”) will continue to be taxed at the industrial rate.
• For wind turbine towers, Consistent with the treatment that has been in place since 2005, these will continue assessed at $40,000/MW of installed capacity, except in the two situations noted above where the assessment would not be affected by the installation (rooftop installations and ground-based installations up to 10 kW).

Ontario Regulation 282/98 was also amended to provide clear policy regarding energy efficiency and energy conservation installations that use renewable energy technologies. As a result, the assessment of properties with an active solar heating or cooling system or a ground-sourced geothermal heating or cooling system will not be increased as a result of that improvement. Questions prompted by the regulatory amendments described above may be directed to the Ministry of Finance, Property Tax Legislation and Assessment Policy Branch:

In January 2012, Ontario Regulation 282/98 under the Assessment Act was amended to provide greater clarity and introduce new rules governing the property tax treatment of renewable-energy installations. The amendments apply to facilities that generate electricity using solar energy, wind energy, or anaerobic digestion of organic matter. The amendments took effect January 1, 2011.

Summary of treatment

• For rooftop Installations, the assessment and tax classification of property will not change due to the addition of a renewable energy installation on the rooftop of a building.
• For ground Installations, the property tax treatment depends on the size and location of the facility as well as who is conducting the generation, as outlined here: The following rules apply where energy generation is conducted by a person who is not ordinarily in the business of electricity generation, transmission or distribution, and where the generation is ancillary to another activity on the same property.

Small-size ground installations with a generation capacity up to 10 kW will not experience an increase in assessment or a change in tax classification.

Medium-size ground installations with a generation capacity over 10 kW and up to 500 kW will be taxed based on the surrounding land use (e.g. residential, farm, multiresidential, commercial).

Large-size ground installations with a generation capacity over 500 kW will be taxed based on the surrounding land use for the proportion of assessment up to 500 kW, and at the industrial rate for the proportion over 500 kW. For example, if a 560 kW wind tower is located on multi-residential property, the assessment of the wind tower and associated land would be apportioned 89% to the multi-residential tax class and 11 per cent to the industrial tax class.

• For On-Farm Anaerobic Digestion: Organic materials in an enclosed vessel are broken down by micro-organisms, in the absence of oxygen. Anaerobic digestion produces biogas (primarily of methane and carbon dioxide). Anaerobic digestion systems are also often referred to as “biogas systems.” Anaerobic digestion facilities of size that are located on a farm and are operated by the farmer will be taxed at the farm rate.
• For generation by corporate power producers, consistent with historic treatment, these facilities operated by entities whose primary business is the generation, transmission, or distribution of electricity (“corporate power producers”) will continue to be taxed at the industrial rate.
• For wind turbine towers, Consistent with the treatment that has been in place since 2005, these will continue assessed at $40,000/MW of installed capacity, except in the two situations noted above where the assessment would not be affected by the installation (rooftop installations and ground-based installations up to 10 kW).

Ontario Regulation 282/98 was also amended to provide clear policy regarding energy efficiency and energy conservation installations that use renewable energy technologies. As a result, the assessment of properties with an active solar heating or cooling system or a ground-sourced geothermal heating or cooling system will not be increased as a result of that improvement. Questions prompted by the regulatory amendments described above may be directed to the Ministry of Finance, Property Tax Legislation and Assessment Policy Branch:

Mr. Murray Mann, (416) 325-2370, murray.mann@ontario.ca

Ms. Nivedita Ravi, (416) 212-4694, nivedita.ravi@ontario.ca

Windpower Engineering & Development

Nearby Glacier I and 2 Wind projects were also constructed by Mortenson.

Mortenson Construction was recently selected by San Francisco-based developer, NaturEner for the construction of the Rim Rock Wind Project. Located on nearly 21,000 acres about 20 miles north of NaturEner’s Glacier I and 2 Wind projects, previously constructed by Mortenson, Rim Rock will generate189-MW of wind power.

Mortenson is responsible for the design and construction of access roads, foundations, erection of 126 Acciona 1.5-megawatt turbines, overhead and underground electrical collection system, two 230 kV substations, a generator tie line, and an O&M facility.  Construction began late October, proceeding through the winter months and is expected to complete in October, 2012.

Montana’s wind attributes are unique to the industry.  According to AWEA, the state is ranked third in the U.S. for potential wind generating capacity, with more than 944,000 MW available for production.  This much wind energy could produce more than 210 times the state’s current electricity needs. Along with Montana’s vast wind resources, the siting for this project was selected because of the ease of access to the property and the business-friendly development atmosphere in this part of Montana. This is NaturEner’s third project in the area.

Since entering the renewable energy market in 1995, Mortenson Construction has constructed more than 100 wind projects generating more than 11,000 MW of renewable power across the United States and Canada. Mortenson’s Renewable Energy Group also constructs facilities that generate solar power, biofuels, and hydro-electric power.

Mortenson
www.mortenson.com/renewables

Windpower Engineering & Development

The recent Vestas V100 will see more installations in 2012.

Vestas completed 2011 with a second consecutive strong year for wind-turbine sales in the United States and Canada, announcing 1,617 MW and 812 wind turbines worth of orders. Vestas also achieved a record year for installations with 30 new wind-power plants coming online in 2011.

“By the end of 2012, we will have added about 50 new wind farms in the U.S. and Canada over the past two years, solidifying our service business for years to come,” said Martha Wyrsch, President of Vestas’ sales and service operations in the U.S. and Canada. “We’ve also done our work very safely. Across our regional operations, Vestas and its contractors have not had a lost-time injury in more than a year, and our construction operations have not had a recordable or lost-time injury in two years.”

 Overall, the company received 10 sales orders from U.S. customers (1,185 MW) and four from Canadian customers (432 MW). In 2010, Vestas announced a company record 1,883 MW of turbine orders for the U.S. and Canadian markets.

Jobs added
To address the growing need for service and maintenance of the new wind power plants, Vestas’ sales and service business unit in the U.S. and Canada has hired more than 200 people since spring 2011. In addition, there are more than 150 job openings in the U.S./Canadian sales and service business unit, primarily in the areas of service, construction and technology. To meet demand for 2010 and 2011 sales, Vestas has filled nearly 700 jobs in the United States and Canada in the past eight months for its regional operations, including many manufacturing positions.

Jobs at stake with PTC expiration

The Production Tax Credit (PTC), due to expire Dec. 31, 2012, has helped drive Vestas’ business and its decision to heavily invest in the United States in the past few years. Wyrsch said if the PTC expires, it will have an impact on employment and capital investment in the U.S. wind industry in 2013 and beyond.

“Since 1999, the PTC has been extended seven times, and prior to 2005, this was done retroactively after expiration,” Wyrsch said. “Along with other industry leaders, we have been engaged in activities designed to extend the PTC as soon as possible — thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs, both at Vestas and other wind energy suppliers, depend on it.”

 Despite the potential for a PTC expiration, Wyrsch said 2012 will be an extremely active year in the U.S. and Canada with more than 20 planned installations of wind-energy projects.
In 2011, Vestas also:

• Began renovation on new North American headquarters building in Portland, Ore., with a planned move in spring 2012
• Announced first sale of the new V112-3.0 MW, a 65 MW project in Vermont
• Began construction on wind-energy projects for EDP Renováveis (EDPR) as part of the master supply agreement announced in 2010
• Achieved zero lost-time injuries, and no recordable or lost-time injuries among Vestas construction employees and contractors since January 2010
• Maintained a strong 1,700-employee manufacturing base in Colorado that are busy producing turbine components — blades, nacelles and towers — for U.S. and Canadian projects.
• Began exporting components from its U.S. factories to projects in Mexico, Brazil and Nicaragua
• Renewed 729 MW worth of service contracts, averaging five years, at 16 wind power plants
• Broke ground on 27,000-ft²Test & Verification facility in Marlborough, Mass., which will focus on the research, development, testing and verification of electric power generators and converters for next-generation wind turbines. The facility will open in the summer 2012 and expects to create at least 66 jobs.Summary of Announced Orders in the U.S. and Canada (2011) 

 Vestas
www.vestas.com

Windpower Engineering & Development

• Russia’s energy prospects and their implications for global markets.

• The role of coal in driving economic growth in an emissions-constrained world.

• The implications of a possible delay in oil and gas sector investment in the Middle East and North Africa.

• The scale of fossil fuel subsidies and support for renewable energy and their impact on energy, economic, and environmental trends.

• A “Low Nuclear Case” to investigate what a rapid slowdown in the use of nuclear power would mean for the global-energy landscape.

• The scale and type of investment needed to provide modern energy to the billions of the world’s poor that do not have it.

WEO-2011 provides insights into how the energy system could evolve over the next 25 years. The book is essential reading, says authors, for anyone with a stake in the energy sector.

WEO-2011 purchasers will receive link, user ID, and password letting them download the published Annex A Tables for Scenario Projections from the World Energy Outlook 2011 Excel format. See video of Dr Fatih Birol, IEA Chief Economist , presenting key topics in the WEO-2011

World Energy Outlook
www.worldenergyoutlook.org

Windpower Engineering & Development

Thirty Nordex N100/2500 turbines will sing at the Mozart wind farm in Texas.

A 30 MW wind farm in Texas will open with 12, 2.5 MW turbines. Nordex USA Inc. announced the new order from developer WKN USA LLC, for its 30 MW Mozart Wind Farm. The 12 Nordex N100/2500 wind turbines on 80-m towers will be located about 60 miles northwest of Abilene, in an area that led the country in wind energy installations over the last decade. The N100’s proven performance record makes it an excellent fit for the site’s IEC Class IIa wind regime.

WKN USA became the first Germany-based firm to construct a commercial size wind project in the United States. In August 2011, BayWa AG through its wholly owned subsidiary BayWare GmbH, acquired a majority stake in WKN USA. This marks the first turbine order in the U.S. for BayWa, continuing its success in the European renewable market.

“We have always valued the quality of Nordex turbines, their engineering, expertise and their creative solutions,” said Florian Zerhusen, Founder & CEO of WKN USA LLC. “We see this order as a first step in extending the success of both of our companies in the American market.”

The Mozart wind farm is about 60 mi. NW of Abilene.

Nordex begins delivery of the Mozart wind farm turbines in late August 2012, and will be responsible for their installation and commissioning. Commercial operation is scheduled for mid-December and an Extended Service contract with a two-year term has been agreed. The nacelles will be produced at Nordex’ new plant in Jonesboro, Arkansas. By the end of this 2011, Nordex will have installed 447.5 MW of its 2.5 MW turbines in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho and Iowa and around 4,300 MW of such turbines worldwide since the year 2001.

“We are honored that WKN has selected Nordex for the Mozart Wind Farm. They are widely respected as an international leader in turnkey renewable energy projects and undertook a rigorous review of our technology and our capability,” said Ralf Sigrist, President & CEO of Nordex USA, Inc. “As a growing global company, we know it is important to solidify our existing business connections while we continue our expansion in the Americas.”

Nordex USA Inc.
www.nordex-online.com

WKN USA LLC
www.wknusa.com

Windpower Engineering & Development

Some 35 more of the Nordex N100/2500 turbines will grace the Iowa skyline starting October 2012.

Nordex USA, Inc. has received two new orders from wind farm developer RPM Access, LLC for their Hawkeye Wind Farm in Fayette County and the Rippey Wind Farm in Green County. The orders for 35 N100/2500 turbines increase Nordex’ capacity in Iowa to 130 MW, enough to generate electricity for 39,000 homes.

Power from the wind farms has been purchased by Central Iowa Power Cooperative under a long term agreement. They will join the company’s Elk Wind Farm in Delaware County where installation and commissioning of 17 Nordex N100/2500 have recently been completed. Success of that project was critical to the RPM Access decision to again choose Nordex wind turbines.

“Nordex has consistently demonstrated the ability to act quickly, flexibly and responsively. Our trust in them and in the quality of their proven 2.5 MW product platform convinced us that they were the right turbine supply partner for these important projects.” commented Stephen Dryden, Principal of RPM Access.

Construction work for both locations has already begun with turbine delivery scheduled for May 2012 for Rippey and June for Hawkeye. Commercial operation for both projects is slated to begin by October 2012. The turbine nacelles will be produced at Nordex’ year-old plant in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The projects will create 60 to 70 jobs during the construction and on-going full-time employment for another 6 to 8, as the contract calls for delivery, installation, commissioning and testing of the turbines, along with a 12-yr Premium Service contract. In recognition of the area’s harsh winter conditions, the turbines will include Nordex’ cold-climate package.

“It is especially rewarding to conclude this second set of contracts with RPM Access, one of the Midwest’s leading project developers,” said Ralf Sigrist, President & CEO of Nordex USA Inc. “We appreciate their vote of confidence in our technology, our reliability, and our capabilities as a company. We’re also proud to become an even larger contributor to Iowa’s leadership position as first in the nation with 20% of all its electricity generated from wind.”

The Hawkeye Wind Farm, with 15 turbines and capacity of 37.5 MW, is about 50 miles northeast of Waterloo, Iowa. Rippey Wind Farm, with 20 turbines and capacity of 50 MW is about 50 miles northwest of Des Moines, Iowa.

By the end of 2011 Nordex will have installed 447.5 MW of its 2.5 MW turbines in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho and Iowa and more than 3,850 MW of such turbines worldwide since the year 2001.

Nordex USA
www.nordex-online.com

Windpower Engineering & Development

The 1.6 MW turbine offers a 47% increase in swept area over previous megawatt-class models, resulting in a 19% increase in annual energy production at 7.5 m/s.

GE says it has secured more than 1,200 MW of commitments for its 1.6-100 wind turbine. The 750 additional turbines bring the total number of orders and commitments to $2.7 billion and more than 2 GW to date. In August 2011, developers selected the turbine for 10 new projects. In total, 1,248 of the 1.6-100 wind turbine technology will be put into wind farms in North and South America over the next two years.

Launched in May 2011, GE’s 1.6-100 wind turbine is designed for increased performance and is the world’s most efficient wind turbine in its class. With blades and towers that extend 100 m, the 1.6-100 captures additional wind energy.

“The 1.6-100 lets owners develop wind farms in lower wind speed sites that were previously not viable,” says GE VP for renewable energy Victor Abate. The wind turbine offers a 47% increase in swept area over previous megawatt-class models, resulting in a 19% increase in annual energy production at 7.5 m/s. This improvement lets the turbine deliver IEC Type Class II (moderate wind speed) performance while operating in a Type Class III (low-wind) environment.

GE Energy
www.GE.com

Windpower Engineering & Development

Can your utility do this? Ercot website tracks its recent load and provides a forecast. Recently, wind in Texas set a production record.

Texas leads the nation in carbon-free electric capacity from wind turbines. However, wind at the farms in West Texas, built by NextEra Energy and others, generally blows the strongest during the evening hours and in the spring and fall months when power demand is low.

Recent wind-farm additions, now totaling more than 1,200 MW, or 13%, have been built closer to the Texas coast, south of Corpus Christi where wind patterns differ from West Texas. About 15% of the record 7,400 MW produced October 7, came from the coastal wind farms, ERCOT said.

Grid officials credited output from the wind fleet for helping meet record power demand this summer during a protracted heat wave and drought. At the time of the latest record, wind generation accounted for 15.2% of the power demand of 48,733 MW, the grid agency said. ERCOT expects to have 9,700 MW of wind generation by year end, Kent Saathoff, ERCOT vice president, told the board Tuesday. Duke Energy’s renewable unit said last month it will complete two phases, totaling 402 MW, at its coastal wind project in Willacy County, Texas, by late 2012. ERCOT’s previous wind record was 7,355 MW of wind set June 19, accounting for 14% of demand.

Wind farms expanded rapidly in Texas until 2009 when wind capacity began to overwhelm the existing transmission capacity available to move the power from remote areas of West Texas to large cities – such as Dallas and San Antonio – that consume the power.

A number of wind projects were canceled, but more than 1,500 MW is in development for 2012, according to ERCOT. Texas is working to add more than 2,300 miles of high-voltage transmission in a $6.5 billion plan to expand the grid by late 2013 to accommodate wind-farm growth of up to 18,500 MW. While current wind-farm construction has slowed to wait for the transmission grid to catch up, developers are studying the addition of nearly 34,000 MW of wind in Texas, down from 39,000 MW a few months ago. Wind represents nearly 58% of all new generation in planning stages over the next few years, according to a monthly ERCOT report.

ERCOT
http://www.ercot.com

Windpower Engineering & Development

Nordex has launched its 2.5 MW Gamma generation wind turbines on the Chinese and Asian market.

Nordex has announced the official launch of its 2.5 MW Gamma generation wind turbines on the Chinese and Asian market. Comprising the N90/2500kW and N100/2500kW, the Efficiency Class 2.5 MW turbines address the market requirements and incorporate the latest research and developments. In developing the Gamma generation, Nordex has remained true to proven principles, using tested series engineering and assigning top priority to the dependability of all system components, to ensure improved product quality for better power yield. Based on the over 1,700, 2.5-MW units already installed and experience from more than a decade of operation, the Gamma Generation is designed for all wind classes and climatic regions in compliance with international grid codes and national standards in China. The quality meets international standards and is in line with the 18 national regulations for wind turbine technology effective from 1 November in China.

The N90/2500 and N100/2500 turbines are based on a common technical platform. A consistent modular design lets Nordex add type-specific components and customer options. Furthermore, the modular design makes delivery, installation, and maintenance fast and simple. The nacelle, hub and board crane have all been re-designed, with optimized yaw, pitch, and cooling systems.

“A new software version for Nordex Control 2 is used in the 2.5 MW gamma platform. With the new software, power yield is improved at partial load operation (vHub = ~ 5 to 10 m/s). It also helps improve output in the low and mid-wind range, while start-up hysteresis is reduced,” says Dr. Ni, Engineering Director of Nordex China. With the company’s global installation experience, Nordex 2.5-MW wind turbines comply with all grid codes across the globe. It has a flexible fault ride-through capability. During a low or high voltage ride throughs, the turbine can continuously output reactive power. The adoption of new circuit topology also gives the turbine a zero voltage ride through capability with a fast reaction speed.

Nordex
www.nordex-online.com

Windpower Engineering & Development