RWE eyes US and MENA expansion
RWE plans to grow its 2GW onshore wind portfolio by developing projects in North America and the Middle East, North Africa.
The German utility revealed the plan in its 2015 results last week, and also said it was looking to build onshore wind farms in the Republic of Ireland and Turkey. Hans Bünting, chief executive of the firm’s renewables arm RWE Innogy, said this would be a key pillar of Innogy’s growth over the next five years.
It is also looking to grow its existing portfolios in offshore wind and hydro; and plans to set up a new division for large solar schemes, with a particular focus on the Middle East.
Vattenfall: Subsidy-free offshore by 2025
Vattenfall has said it expects to be able to develop offshore wind farms without government subsidies by 2025.
The Swedish utility’s head of strategic projects in wind, Michael Simmelsgaard, has said that it should be possible to build onshore wind farms without subsidies by 2020, and offshore wind farms without subsidies in 2025. The company plans to grow its 1.8GW wind portfolio to 4GW in 2020 and 7GW in 2025.
In February 2015, Vattenfall won the right to develop the 400MW Horns Rev 3 in Danish waters, which is expected to produce the world’s cheapest offshore wind power.
John Laing opts for Nordex in Ireland
John Laing Investments has ordered Nordex turbines for its planned 35MW Glencabry wind farm in the Republic of Ireland.
The UK investor is set to install 12 of the German manufacturer’s turbines — seven N100/3300s and five N90/2500s — at its project near Hollyford in County Tipperary. Delivery is scheduled to start in October ahead of commissioning in early 2017.
Nordex has also secured a 15-year service deal at the scheme.
India NuPower eyes $300m raise
Indian wind developer NuPower is looking to raise $300m in two tranches to develop 1GW of wind farms over six years.
NuPower has 200MW of working wind farms and 500MW planned. Its managing director Deepak Kochhar says the firm is seeking investment from pension funds in Australia, Canada and the US; and is on track to secure $150m by the end of September.
Its existing backers include Accion Capital Management, Axis Bank, Central Bank of India and Punjab National Bank. It plans to develop 500MW in India by the end of 2018, and the other 500MW by the end of 2021.
Salesforce agrees 24MW Texas PPA
US cloud computing firm Salesforce has agreed a 24MW power purchase deal with EDF Renewable Energy in US state Texas.
Salesforce has signed a 12-year deal with the EDF subsidiary for power from the 150MW Salt Fork wind farm, which is due to complete early this year. EDF bought the scheme from Clelo Wind Power in June 2015 for an undisclosed sum.
This is Salesforce’s second wind power purchase agreement following the 40MW 12-year deal it agreed in December for power from a project in West Virginia.
Analysis
March 23, 2023
The Irish Government has unveiled changes to its second offshore wind tender that the industry said have created “massive levels of uncertainty”. We look at what this means for the up-to-80GW of offshore wind projects in development in Irish waters.