Portugal's Rising Wind Energy Star
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June 2011 Volume 30/No 3 INTERVIEW CARLOSCARLOS DASD DORES ZORRINHO Portugal’s rising Portuguese Secretary of State for Energy wind energy star | contents | THE EUROPEAN WIND INDUSTRY MAGAZINE June 2011 Volume 30/No 3 letter from the editor 5 Scaling technological heights wind news 6 EU roadmap 10 Wanted: higher EU emissions reduction targets brussels briefi ng 15 control centre visit 18 Getting the detailed view interview 22 Dermot Grimson, UK Crown Estate country focus 25 A closer look at Norway... wind worker 26 Dirk Buschmann, E.ON Fermín Dueñas, Acciona fi rst person 28 Claus Madsen, ABB focus 30 Portugal - the quiet wind energy star interview 38 Carlos das Dores Zorrinho, Secretary of State for Energy, Portugal technology special 42 Radar and wind turbines – learning to live together EWEA 2011 report 46 EWEA 2011 moves onwards and upwards EWEA news 50 EWEA welcomes new members 55 the last word 58 Wind Directions is published fi ve times a year. The contents do not necessarily refl ect the views and policy of EWEA. Bruce Douglas, EWEA’s former COO Publisher: Christian Kjaer Editor: Sarah Azau Writers: Sarah Azau, Chris Rose, Zoë Casey Design & production: www.inextremis.be Cover photo: Enercon Additional design and photographic input: Jesus Quesada, Jason Bickley Cert no. SGS-COC-006375 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 3 DEPENDABLE NORDEX ENGINEERING – NOW ALSO WITH DIRECT DRIVE. The N150/6000 is the fi rst Nordex turbine developed especially for use at sea. A rated capacity of 6 MW combines with a rotor diameter of 150 metres and direct drive to make it the most effi cient solution for offshore locations. A further plus – the drive concept minimises both turbine weight and maintenance. Many years of experience in wind engineering matched with tried and tested components guarantee the dependability you have come to expect from Nordex. www.nordex-online.com B_NOR_564_Nordex_AZ_K11_A4_WiKrJo_GB_RZ.indd 1 24.03.2011 14:30:33 Uhr | letter from the editor | By Sarah Azau Editor Scaling technological heights echnology is evolving at a breathless pace. A few Mapping the future Tdecades ago, to know what your wind farm ten Technology was also at the centre of a European kilometres away was doing, you had to get in a car Commission Roadmap published in March. The or a train and travel there, or call someone onsite. Roadmap recommended that the power sector These days, it’s all done at the fl ick of a virtual reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 93-99% switch, from ‘control centres’ that monitor every as- by 2050 to keep the EU in line with its own targets pect of a wind farm 24 hours a day. These centres and avoid climate catastrophe. On p. 10, Chris not only allow a problem to be identifi ed and xedfi Rose analyses the Roadmap and argues that the as soon as possible once it arises, they enable data key fi rst step to 2050 is a higher goal for 2020, of to be gathered showing where turbine and wind farm 30% emission reductions in Europe. designs can be improved so that the whole sector can evolve. I visited one such centre in Spain and Memory lane you can read about it on p. 18. Looking back rather than forward, on p. 48 Chris One country with a genuine vision for electrical Rose also presents a summary of the EWEA 2011 and renewable energy technology is Portugal. Annual Event - with plenty of photos – that took Something of an unsung hero of the renewables place this March in Brussels, both for those who world, Portugal is second only to Denmark in were there and for those who missed it. terms of the percentage of its electricity it gets Looking back even further – at his ten years from wind. But not only does the country have a at the helm of EWEA - is the author of this strong wind energy track record and innovative issue’s ‘Last Word’, Bruce Douglas, who was industry, it has ambitious plans for a smart grid Chief Operating Offi cer up to March this year. and electric vehicles, which are being rolled out When Douglas joined the association’s staff, in the historic university town of Évora. While the it represented growth of 50%. This year, there political situation could change with the elections are 54 of us engaged in lobbying, researching, on 5 June, it looks likely that whoever wins will communicating, writing and organising as part continue to support the country’s vision. Read of the voice of the European wind industry. Read more in the Focus on p. 30 and the interview more on p. 58. with the Portuguese Secretary of State for Energy on p. 38. Join in worldwide Technological progress is nearly always to be Finally, this magazine goes to print just a couple welcomed – whether it be more effi cient wind of weeks before this year’s Global Wind Day turbines, cars that run on renewable electricity or takes place on Wednesday 15 June. See what’s being able to check your emails on your phone – going on in your neck of the woods – from games but sometimes it is necessary to fi nd solutions and concerts to competitions and seminars to allow vital technologies to operate in harmony. - by going onto the interactive event map on On p. 42, Crispin Aubrey examines the at times www.globalwindday.org, follow the news on Twitter complex relationship between radar - used to ensure (use #globalwindday) and have a look for the aeroplanes follow safe paths - and wind turbines. dedicated Global Wind Day page on Facebook. ■ WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 5 | wind news | CANADA consumption of 400,000 Danish house- renewables from 2011 to 2013, the 104 MW more for Canada holds, or 4% of Denmark’s total electric- company has annouced. Currently its Vestas has received an order for 58 ity consumption. biggest project in Europe is the London turbines – with a combined capacity of More information: www.dongenergy.com Array offshore wind farm – being 104 MW - for a wind energy project in built with partners DONG Energy and Canada. EUROPE Masdar - which will have 1,000 MW of The contract includes delivery and Next generation Ventos CFD capacity, making it the world’s largest commissioning along with a 10-year model to be developed wind farm when fully completed. service and maintenance agreement. RES, Natural Power and the Faculty of Recently, E.ON installed the fi rst of Delivery is scheduled for mid-2012 Engineering at the University of Porto 94 turbines in a wind farm in Illinois, and commissioning expected in au- (FEUP), Portugal have joined up for a US. When completed, the farm at tumn 2012.The blades and nacelles research and development joint ven- Settlers Trail will have 150 MW of will be provided from Vestas’ factory in ture focused on developing the next capacity, and be able to supply the Colorado. generation VENTOS computational fl uid equivalent of 45,000 households with So far, Vestas has supplied 1,683 dynamics (CFD) model for wind energy clean electricity. MW of installed wind capacity to Canada. applications. More information: www.eon.com More information: www.vestas.com VENTOS is a series of tools that are used in combination with onsite wind MONGOLIA CHINA measurements to predict wind conditions Turbines for the wind-swept Spanish and Chinese companies that at the location of each turbine of a plains of IMAR work together proposed wind farm. This allows turbines Vestas has received an order for Chinese power company Longyuan is to be sited in areas of complex terrain 25 turbines, of a total 50 MW, for to work with Gamesa to develop wind and forestry at locations appropriate to the north eastern part of the Inner projects of up to 900 MW in international their design and helps to provide accurate Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR), markets outside of China. The agree- predictions of their long term energy yield. China. ment - the fi rst to be signed by Chinese The R&D programme will focus on key The climate in the north eastern and Spanish companies in the wind areas of immediate interest to the wind part of IMAR where Hulunbeier is energy industry - calls for the partners to energy industry including non-neutral located is extremely harsh and hostile, research suitable sites for the joint de- atmospheric fl ows, turbine wakes and and wind turbines can only be installed velopment of wind farms in international forestry. from May to September. markets, primarily the United States and More information: www.res-group.com The contract includes delivery, European and Latin American countries. installation and commissioning of the Gamesa and Longyuan will research GERMANY wind turbines, as well as a service and wind projects, both those Gamesa has €2.6 billion to be invested in maintenance agreement. The turbines already identifi ed and included in its wind renewables up to 2013 are scheduled to be delivered in the farm project portfolio, and new ventures E.ON plans to invest €2.6 billion in second quarter of 2011. in strategic countries. Gamesa cur- rently has a wind farm portfolio of over 22,600 MW at varying stages of develop- ment in Europe, the Americas and Asia. More information: www.gamesa.es Photo: EWEA DENMARK Pension savers become owners of Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm A forthcoming offshore wind farm in Denmark now has 840,000 pension savers as new co-owners, since pension funds PensionDanmark and PKA acquired half of the offshore wind farm from DONG Energy recently. PensionDanmark bought 30% and PKA bought 20%.