UK coalition partners in wind spat
The Liberal Democrats have said deputy prime minister Nick Clegg vetoed Tory plans to block new onshore wind farms.
The party has said that the Conservative Party is planning to cap onshore wind generation. This would restrict proposed onshore wind farms that have not been granted planning approval.
The Liberal Democrats said Clegg vetoed the proposal during a meeting with the Conservatives on Monday. The Conservatives have not commented on this specific claim, but a spokesman has said it wants to give local people more say over wind farms.
Dong sells 50% of Westermost Rough
Dong Energy has sold half of its 210MW Westermost Rough offshore scheme to the Marubeni Corporation and UK Green Investment Bank.
The Danish developer has announced that it sold a 25% stake to Japanese conglomerate Marubeni and a further 25% stake to the bank, for around £240m each.
The scheme is due to be fully commissioned in the first half of 2015. It is 25km north of the mouth of the Humber estuary.
RWE sells 10% stake in Gwynt y Mor
RWE Innogy has sold a 10% stake in its 576MW offshore project Gwynt y Mor to the UK Green Investment Bank for £220m.
The developer, part of German utility RWE, said it would reinvest the funding in other renewables projects. The deal is set to close when construction finishes, which is due by the end of this year.
Gwynt y Mor is largest offshore wind farm currently under construction in Europe.
Vestas secures €1bn credit facility…
Vestas has secured a five-year €1bn revolving credit facility from a group of six banks.
The Danish manufacturer agreed the deal with a group comprising Nordea, DNB, HSBC, SEC, Societe Generale and UniCredit. The firm said the credit facility would provide a long-term financing platform to support its aim of profitable growth.
This €1bn represents an increase from the €850m credit facility it agreed in February.
…and two US orders totalling 292MW
Vestas has received a 194MW order for 97 V100-2.0MW turbines as part of a supply agreement with EDF Renewable Energy.
The Danish manufacturer is due to deliver the turbines and commission them in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The company has also announced a 98MW with an undisclosed US customer. It is set to deliver the turbines in late 2014 and complete commissioning in early 2015.
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.