Work starts on Trump-angering scheme
Engineers have begun work on the 100MW Aberdeen Bay offshore
wind farm that Donald Trump is to fight in the European courts.
Trump has opposed the development of the 11-turbine scheme, and taken it to court three times, because he said it would ruin the view from his golf course. The Trump International Golf Links resort is just a few miles from where developers Vattenfall and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group plan to build the wind farm.
The billionaire, who is frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the US presidential race, has claimed since 2014 that the Scottish
government acted illegally when it granted planning consent. His claims were rejected by the UK’s Supreme Court in December, but he has promised to take his fight to the European Court of Justice. Construction on the full scheme is now set to begin in early 2018.
When should wind worry about President Trump? Our views here
Senvion seeks to raise €700m in listing
Senvion is seeking to raise up to €700m by listing a 46% minority stake on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, its owners have confirmed.
Owners Centerbridge and Arpwood Capital this week revealed the full details of the plan they announced last month to list a minority stake of the German manufacturer. They said on Monday that they expected the 29.9million Senvion shares to begin trading on 18 March. They are seeking between €20 and €23.50 per share.
Centerbridge, which bought the firm for €1bn from India’s Suzlon last year, would remain the majority stakeholder after the IPO.
Statoil uses $200m fund for United Wind
Statoil has made a move into the small wind market with a debut investment by its $200m fund in US operator United Wind.
The Norwegian energy giant created the $200m fund, Statoil Energy Ventures, in February as part of its New Energy Solutions business unit. Its $3m investment in United Wind is the fund’s first investment. The deal gives Statoil a seat on United Wind’s board.
Statoil Energy Ventures is set to invest $200m in renewable energy growth companies over the next four to seven years, as it looks to complement Statoil's oil and gas portfolio with renewables.
Want more? Here is our view on United Wind's business model
India considers repowering incentives
India's renewables ministry is set to give a financial boost to wind farm owners to redevelop schemes that have sub-1MW turbines.
More than 3GW of India’s 25GW of wind capacity is accounted for by projects using sub-1MW turbines, most of which were installed before 2000. The draft proposal would offer such projects an extra 0.25% interest rate discount from the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency should they choose repowering.
They would also be eligible for the same 'accelerated depreciation' and 'generation based incentive' schemes as new projects. The draft policy is part of a drive to boost India’s installed wind capacity to 60GW by 2022. India’s Ministry of New & Renewable Energy is inviting comments on the draft proposal until 14 March.
ReNew's CEO Sumant Sinha talks about the prospects for wind in India in our Emerging Markets report. See Wind Watch for details
John Laing plans £359m green spend
John Laing plans to invest up to £359m in renewables over the next two years as it explores repowering and new markets.
The UK infrastructure firm invested a total of £110m in renewable energy projects in 2015, including the €50m 89MW Klettwitz wind farm in Germany. Now it is looking to broaden its horizons as the onshore wind and solar markets are “increasingly competitive”.
The firm plans to focus on opportunities in Germany, particularly repowering projects, while growing in Asia-Pacific and entering North America. It is also looking at the offshore wind sector.
Wind Watch
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Wind
March 29, 2023
Four Republican congressmen have called for a halt to US offshore wind projects because of unsubstantiated claims blaming the industry for whale deaths. But this obvious misinformation can still be a threat for the growth of the industry.