37 RES Americas closes $508 million in construction loans CONSTRUCTION BOP/EPC • Project Status • Siting • Equipment • Project Due Diligence • Services Minnesota Power, Duluth Port reach wind shipment milestone Minnesota Power and the Duluth Port reached a That wind installation was constructed, and is owned supply chain milestone recently as the 15th ship by, NextEra Energy. Minnesota Power subsequently built bearing wind generation equipment destined for a the first three phases of its Bison Wind Energy Center Minnesota Power wind installation in North Dakota adjacent to the initial wind farm located in Oliver County arrived at the harbor beneath the Aerial Lift Bridge. about a 90-minute drive east of Bismarck, North Dakota. The BBC cargo ship, Peter Roenna arrived in Dulu- Bison 4, a 205-MW addition to the wind farm, th in mid-July carrying over two dozen wind energy will utilize larger, more powerful Siemens wind tur- components after a voyage from Brande, Denmark, bines than those installed last year in phases 2 and where the equipment is manufactured by Siemens. 3 of the project. Because the generators are more Two other shiploads of Siemens wind equipment powerful, it will take only 64 turbines to produce bound for North Dakota arrived at the port in June; about the same amount of electricity produced by 70 two more are expected before the end of September. turbines in last year’s installation. Once operational, Since the port first started handing these project Bison 4 will push Minnesota Power past the 25 per- cargoes for Minnesota Power, a total of 15 shiploads cent renewable energy goal established by Minneso- of wind energy equipment — including these nacelle ta legislation 11 years ahead of schedule. cooling units and generators — have crossed the The first of the 64 new wind turbine generators Atlantic Ocean, sailing through the Saint Lawrence was erected and installed earlier this month. A na- Seaway and across the Great Lakes into Duluth. celle was attached to the top of the first Bison 4 tow- The components were then loaded onto trucks for er July 2, and three days later, three wind turbine delivery to the Bison Wind Energy Center near New blades attached to a hub were “flown” to the tower Salem, North Dakota. top. Two large crawler cranes are positioned to con- The first shipments in 2006 included blades for a tinue Bison 4 assembly throughout the summer. 98-MW wind farm in Oliver County, N.D. from which “This latest shipment of wind components is Minnesota Power purchases all the electric generation. meaningful on several levels,” said Dave McMillan, windsystemsmag.com 33 CONSTRUCTION senior vice president of external handling, secure storage and de- Port of Duluth to New Salem. affairs at ALLETE and execu- livery, particularly for shippers of “We appreciate the support, the tive vice president of Minnesota dimensional cargo,” noted Vanta trust placed in us by Minnesota Power. “It turns a spotlight on Coda, Port Authority executive Power,” added Jonathan Lamb, the global nature of sustainable director. “We are pleased to have LSW president. “We’ve forged a energy and the importance of been able to serve as a transport close working relationship over efficiently transporting goods hub for Minnesota Power’s wind these many years. We also know and services. This internation- projects since their launch, and how much moving their project al ship’s arrival represents the congratulate them on meeting the cargo through the Port of Duluth resourcefulness Minnesota Power 25 percent renewable energy goal also supports the greater business has shown in striving to reach more than a full decade ahead of community.” the renewable energy mandate.” the state’s 2025 goal.” Tower sections, manufactured McMillan also serves on the Saint This year, to make delivery in Manitowoc, Wis., using steel Lawrence Seaway Development even more efficient, the gen- produced with Minnesota iron Corporation’s Advisory Board. erators were separated at the ore, will be transported through The Clure Public Marine Ter- manufacturer from the back ends Hinckley and Brainerd on their minal — this Port’s only general (main body) of each nacelle, rath- way to Bison as construction cargo terminal — is owned by the er than being shipped together as continues. With a portion of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and one large dimensional unit as in nacelle units now manufactured operated by Lake Superior Ware- previous years. Dividing the huge at a Siemens plant in Hutchinson, housing. “The strategic location power units into two parts makes Kan. and the turbine blades fab- of this port, the capacity of this them easier to transport by truck, ricated in Fort Madison, Ia. Bison facility, and the quality of LSW’s eliminating the requirement to 4 will have more American-made workforce has earned Duluth hire extra “flag crew” vehicles to components than the earlier Bison a reputation for efficient cargo accompany the trucks from the phases. 14799 WOC US Advert_14799 WOC US Advert 21/07/2014 09:54 Page 1 Wind Operator Gold Sponsors: Congress North America Silver Sponsors: Conference Sponsors: 16-17 September 2014, InterContinental Magnificent Mile, Chicago, USA Minimize costs, slash downtime, boost reliability and maximize productivity Confirmed Speakers Include: Matthew Burt, Scott Bramlett, Jason Eddy, Steve Gilbert, Senior Vice President Operations, Regional Safety Specialist, Vice President Midwest Region, UVIG O&M Users Group RES Americas EDF Renewable Services Broadwind Energy Chair and Manager, Energy Projects Development, Mike Peck, Rob Edinger, Dr. Ashley Crowther, Alaska Village Electric Cooperative Director, Asset Management, Corporate O&M Director of the Americas, VP Engineering, Aaron Greco, EDP Renewables North America Goldwind Service Company Romax Technology Mechanical Engineer, Tribology Section, Emil Moroz, Ryan McGraw, Dr. Jim McCaa, Argonne National Laboratory Asset Strategist, Head of Asset Management, Director of Advanced Applications, AES Orion Renewable Energy Group Dan Shreve, Vaisala Partner, Troy Ryan, David Korim, Evan Osler, MAKE Consulting Eastern Regional Manager, Team Leader Diagnostics Engineering, Business Development Manager, Brian Sturtecky, Infigen Energy General Electric Renewable NRG Systems Area Director, Judah Moseson, Rick Kroon, OSHA Taber Allison, Director of O&M Services, Vice President Quality Safety and Director of Research and Evaluation, Walter Hornaday, Infigen Energy Environment, American Wind Wildlife Institute President, Grayling Vander Velde, Vestas Wind Systems Cielo Wind Power Principal Safety Specialist, Lauge Nielsen, John W. Zack, Principal, Director of Forecasting, Dave Magill, Wind Power Generation, Director Wind Farm Operations, Senior Vice President, NextEra Energy GDF Suez AWS Truepower LLC Competitive Power Ventures Gary Lee, Paul Haberlein, Amy Grace, Justin Johnson, Health and Safety Manager, Director, Operations Engineering, North American Wind Analyst, Director of Performance Management, EDP Renewables Pattern Energy Bloomberg New Energy Finance EDP Renewables For more information or to book your delegate place, please visit www.windoperatorcongress.com or email [email protected]. Please quote VIP code WSAD 34 AUGUST | 2014 EDF-RE reaches commercial operation HEADLINES on Spinning Spur II in Texas Panhandle EDF EN Canada and Enbridge dedicate Blackspring Ridge Wind Project EDF EN Canada Inc., and Enbridge Inc., recently dedicated the 300 MW Blackspring Ridge Wind Project. Located in Vulcan County, Alberta, the project is the largest investment in wind energy in Western Canada. EDF EN Canada and Enbridge officials joined Alberta Energy Minister Diana McQueen, Derrick Annable, Reeve of Vulcan County, Kym Nichols, Mayor of Carmangay, and more than 100 other invited guests to mark the occasion. Construction of the 166 turbine project commenced in May 2013 and reached commercial operation twelve months later in May 2014. Mortenson Canada served as the construction contractor. Pattern receives EAC for British Columbia project Reaching a key milestone in the development process, Pattern Energy Group LP announced it has received an Environmental Assessment Certificate for its Meikle Wind project, a 185 MW wind power project located in British Columbia. EDF Renewable Energy recent- 40 miles west of Amarillo in June “This is Pattern Development’s first ly announced that the 161 MW 2013. The power is sold pursuant project in British Columbia, expanding Spinning Spur II Wind Project in to an 11-year purchase agreement. the Company’s presence to a third Texas has reached commercial The project is one of the first to province in Canada,” said Mike Gar- operation. The company further feed into the new CREZ (Compet- land, CEO of Pattern Development. “We announced the close of structured itive Renewable Energy Zones) have now received the major environ- equity financing from GE Energy transmission infrastructure which mental approval for this project, which Financial Services and MUFG enables access to the strong renew- was the last big milestone before Union Bank, N.A. The completion able resources of West Texas and arranging construction financing.” of construction and COD mile- the Texas Panhandle and delivery The Meikle Wind project, which has stone allows the closing of the sale of the wind energy resource to the a 25-year power purchase agreement of 50 percent of EDF Renewable high electricity demand areas in with BC Hydro, is expected to com- Energy’s equity interest in the