More than 9,600 megawatts of wind power capacity was installed in European Union member states in 2011, accounting for about 21 percent of all new power capacity installations, according to an industry report.

New offshore wind farms in the UK and land-based projects in Sweden and Germany pushed EU member states to a combined 93,957 megawatts of wind power capacity, an increase of about 10.5 percent from 2010, according to the European Wind Energy Association.

Overall, renewable energy installations accounted for more than 71 percent of all new installed power capacity, with more than 32,000 megawatts installed, according to the report. In the UK, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the offshore wind industry will unveil new policies today to encourage greater production of wind turbines within the UK, setting a new target requiring that more than half of the equipment for the next generation of wind farms will be made domestically.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

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From devastating outbreaks of white nose syndrome to large numbers of bat deaths caused by collision and dramatic changes in air pressure, the health of bat populations has emerged as a major issue for wind farm developers and operators. And while a range of solutions including specialized radar systems and purple wind turbines have been proposed and tested, there has been a gap in research and technology that helps predict the movements of migratory bats.

But now, researchers at the US Forest Service have developed a new technology and predictive tool designed to help wind farm operators reduce impacts on migratory bats while maximizing energy production. The interactive tool, created by ecologist Ted Weller and statistician Jim Baldwin from the USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station, allows users to predict the probability of bat presence (See a demonstration of the interactive tool at the Wolfram Demonstrations Project website).

In research conducted at Dillon Wind Energy Facility in the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Resource Area in Southern California (pdf), Weller and his team used devices that detected the bats’ echolocation calls, and then linked the presence of bats to the on-site weather conditions.

“Increasing the wind speed at which turbines begin to spin and produce energy to the grid has proven to be an effective way to reduce bat fatalities; however, bat activity levels depend on more than just wind speed,” says ecologist Weller. “Our work demonstrates the use of a decision-making tool that could protect bats when fatality risk is highest while maximizing energy production on nights with a low chance of fatalities.”

The researchers also found that multiple, properly-deployed echolocation detectors better characterize bat activity at the facility.

“These days, pre-construction echolocation monitoring is as common as meteorological monitoring at wind energy facilities,” Weller explains, “so the basic building blocks for these models are available at most proposed sites.”

Funded by the California Energy Commission Public Interest Energy Research program, the study was a collaborative effort between the USDA, Iberdrola Renewables, and the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative.

Article by Timothy Hurst, appearing courtesy Earth & Industry.

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Some sectors and businesses have been more resilient than others to the economic crisis. But has the recession actually been a driver of growth for any? Apparently so – and they’re fast gaining investor attention, emerging as the ultimate recession-busting cleantech investment.

Unsurprisingly, the idea of reusing goods – extending their lives by trading used or refurbished items and thereby reducing energy use (compared to the manufacturing process of a new item), waste and most importantly, costs – is very much a theme of recessionary times.

Two opportunities in particular are opening up to investors (and they will be the focus of our next conference ‘Investing in Remanufacturing and Recommerce’ in London on March 9).

Recommerce is the increasing trend among consumers and businesses to trade used items for new or used goods, spend less and be more environmentally responsible. Regionally-focused, online trading houses with slick, easy-to-use websites offering good-as-new goods and instant credit or cash are making the most of the limited purchasing power of corporates and consumers. They buy used items, quality approve them, repackage them and sell them on – with a warranty. The speed and reliability of the service and products, compared with alternatives such as ebay, mean their fast building a fan base.

ReBuy is a high growth German company doing exactly this. It says the recession has actually had a positive effect on business and it’s looking to expand by adding more categories to its list which includes phones, video games and books.

Gazelle, ReBuy’s US counterpart, got $22 million in a series D round from a syndicate which included Craton Equity Partners Physic Ventures, Venrock Associates and RockPort Capital.

The second opportunity – remanufacturing – is when a product at end-of-life is refurbished and returned to like-new (with a warranty to match).

Remanufacturing is not to be confused with recycling, which refers to completely disassembling or breaking down an item into its various materials or components which are then separated and sold on to be used in the manufacture of new products. Nor is it a new concept.

Caterpillar, possibly the world’s largest remanufacturer, has been doing it for decades and increasing its capabilities as new generations of products reach end of life. One example being its recently signed deal with Vestas to refurbish wind turbines.

The benefits of remanufacturing can be huge, but they depend heavily on the product being considered for remanufacture. While a remanufactured item may have consumed much less energy (during remanufacturing) and produced less waste than a new one, the energy it consumes during its useful life is also a critical factor in assessing the case for remanufacture. A new item with energy efficient technology may consume a lot less energy during its useful life than an old – though remanufactured
model, thereby cancelling out any energy savings gained from remanufacturing. This is key to establishing whether remanufacturing services and technologies should be applied to new industries and whether they can be successfully maintained in others.

In the UK remanufacturing is a £5 billion dollar industry according to Oakdene Hollins which runs the UK Centre for Remanufacturing and Reuse. There are hundreds of companies providing services across the country – some, such as Infoteam, for big name clients like Apple and Sony.

Infoteam repairs electronic equipment that has been returned by customers to retailers or manufacturers. It was named the fastest growing company in the Southwest in October.

Cisco has also now caught onto the opportunity and is investigating new product offerings that realise the benefits of remanufacturing.

In the US. Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers thinks it’s onto a winner with eRecyclingcorp having led a $35m round in December. The company combines innovative software with remanufacturing capabilities to take second hand mobile phones from the developed world to feed emerging markets’ hunger for cheap phones. The software is integrated with mobile phone manufacturers’ point of sale software allowing consumers to receive store credit if they hand in their old phone when buying a new one. The credit can be then against the purchase of the new phone. The old one is then passed to erecyclingcorp to work its magic.

The London Environmental Investment Forum will be holding its ‘Investing in Remanufacturing & Recommerce’ conference on 9 March 2012 which will explore this topic in more depth through industry insight and discussions with leaders and innovators. If you’re interested in speaking at or sponsoring this event, please contact us. Find out more about LEIF at www.london-eif.com.

Article by Tom Whitehouse. Tom is the Chairman of the London Environmental Investment Forum (LEIF), a conference platform which connects environmental innovation with capital, and the Founder and CEO of LEIF’s Initiating Partner, Carbon International, a corporate finance and investor communications consultancy for environmental and cleantech industries.

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What developers and financiers of wind farm projects need to know.

I attended the AWEA Fall Symposium in Carlsbad in November 2011. While it was a good industry gathering, I was intrigued by a panel discussion in which a representative from a major US developer and O&M (operations & maintenance) service provider to wind farms indicated that his organization will sometimes sidestep the turbine OEM (original equipment manufacturer) when it comes to sourcing spare parts.

Generally speaking, the turbine supply agreements which wind turbine OEMs sign with their own customers cover the breadth of their patent protection, but typically only a use license is provided. The ability to modify turbines or use substitutes may not be implicitly provided to the owner/operator of the turbine, calling into question some of the proposed methods developers and O&M service providers may use to help control cost.

Aspects of this topic were previously covered in in this space in a post entitled Infringement Issues in an Emerging Wind Power Cottage Industry.

Interestingly, in other industries, like automotive, we have seen the OEMs create features of certain key components which mean the components or the service can only be provided by an OEM representative or certified technician. This locks in an aftermarket revenue stream for the OEM, and is something they will not want to lose out on as more ‘modern’ turbine fleets begin to come off warranty and age.

As the O&M cost structure and optimization of wind farm operations becomes more of a hot button issue, we will see what steps if any OEMs will take to ensure revenue streams in this increasingly competitive market. Assertion of patent rights is certainly a tool in the toolbox.

Nevertheless, this topic got me to thinking about other areas in which there may be vulnerability of developers, and thus the financiers of wind farm projects, to assertion of patent rights from turbine OEMs.

As we have seen in other industries, as competition emerges and the industry matures, IP owners begin to assert their rights if they feel there is diminishment of their commercial enterprise.

We have seen GE assert its patent rights against many other turbine OEMs on variable speed technology, and even go to court with Mitsubishi in a suit which could have profound implications on future assertion within the industry. AMSC also recently made public the theft of trade secrets by one of its customers.

This begs an important question: Will the turbine OEMs, who have accumulated over 4300 US patents and applications on all aspects of wind turbine technology, begin to seek targets other than their OEM competition for licensing revenue in a US market which is increasingly cost competitive?

For instance, there are many OEMs and key component suppliers with patents on methods of power factor control and curtailment for wind farms. These two particular aspects of wind farm operation and optimization are not only noteworthy for freedom to operate by the competitor OEMs, but operators of wind farms may need to start paying attention too.

U.S. Patent No. 6,479,907 owned by ABB, U.S. Patent No. 6,891,281 owned by Enercon, and U.S. Patent No. 7,663,260 owned by Nordex are good examples of hardware and control methodologies already being employed.

What recourse does a wind farm operator or turbine OEM have to refuse a curtailment order from an ISO if they know that it would infringe on a third party or competitor’s patent?

Also, U.S. Patent No. 7,318,154 owned by GE, which enables remote monitoring and control of wind farms via the SCADA system, could potentially be important to anyone operating a wind farm. FIG. 1 of this patent is shown here:

Nowadays, even connection of energy storage technology or use of high voltage direct current HVDC is becoming more pervasively talked about and deployed in wind, with plenty of pioneering patents and applications on both aspects of technology already in process.

The question is whether or not an OEM would jeopardize a customer or potential customer relationship and turbine sales to assert its patent rights on developers, O&M providers or owners/operators of wind farms for which they did not supply turbines (and the aforementioned use licenses).

Is there a need to add IP due diligence to wind farm development efforts? Perhaps, but there is a long way to go from patents which “may be highly relevant” to getting lawyered up in an effort to fend off opposition. That being said, being proactive could reduce the odds of excessive damage awards.

As FERC continues to evolve their regulations regarding operation of wind farms, we will see if the OEMs can remain one step ahead with patent protection on technologies which could become the new standard for optimized performance of a wind farm or cost mitigation of O&M.

Article by Philip Totaro, Principal at Totaro & Associates, a consulting firm focused on innovation strategy, competitive intelligence, product development and patent search. Article appearing courtesy Green Patent Blog.

To get a deeper look into the patent landscape of the horizontal axis, utility-scale wind industry please visit www.totaro-associates.com and ask about Wind Patent Watch™, a subscription service providing a weekly digest and analysis of the published patents and applications from the wind industry.

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WindFlip AS is a Norwegian company that has developed WindFlip, a novel approach to transporting pre-assembled wind turbines to offshore locations.

The approach is described in International Application Publication No. WO 2011/051804, entitled “Partially Submersible Wind Turbine Transport Vessel” (’804 Application).

WindFlip is a specialized barge for transporting assembled offshore wind turbines. The assembled wind turbine (24) is transported on a turbine transport vessel (10) in a nearly horizontal position, as shown below in Figure 1 of the ’804 Application.

Once the vessel (10) reaches its destination, it tilts to a vertical position using seawater. More particularly, twenty-nine air-filled displacement tanks are located in the hull (22) of the vessel (10).

The displacement tanks are sequentially filled with seawater, sinking the stern (16) of the vessel (10) and the base of the turbine (24), until both are at a vertical position, as shown in Figure 4.

Once the turbine (24) and vessel (10) are oriented approximately 90 degrees to the sea surface, the turbine (24) is released and maneuvered to pre-installed anchors. After releasing the turbine (24), the vessel returns to a horizontal position by forcing the seawater out of the displacement tanks with compressed air.

See an animation of the process below.

Traditional offshore wind turbine transportation requires deep ocean depths due to the turbines’ draft. WindFlip allows pre-assembled wind turbines to be transported to offshore locations despite shallow or variable ocean depths.

Eric Lane is a patent attorney at Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps in San Diego and the author of Green Patent Blog. Mr. Lane can be reached at elane@luce.com.

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Principle Power is a Seattle, Washington-based renewable energy technology company that developed WindFloat, an offshore wind power turbine and platform. The platform can be assembled on shore and then towed to a site offshore where it is moored and connected to a power station.

Principle Power recently deployed its first WindFloat system off the coast of Portugal, the first offshore turbine to be located in open Atlantic waters (read more about the first deployment here and here).

The WindFloat technology is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0037264, entitled “Column-stabilized offshore platform with water-entrapment plates and asymmetric mooring system for support of offshore wind turbines” (’264 Application).

The platform comprises columns (102, 103) interconnected with a truss structure composed of main beams (115), bracing beams (116), and cross beams (117). A wind tower (111) is attached to one of the base columns (102, 103).

A wind turbine (125) is attached to the wind tower (111). At the base of the columns are horizontal water-entrapment plates (107). The submerged plates (107) are designed to provide hydrodynamic added-mass and dampening, resulting in reduced platform motion – particularly in heavy seas.

The turbine platform can also include active ballast systems for stabilization. The columns (102,103) can be hollow and and house the active ballast system, which transfers water between tanks within the columns. The active ballast system is designed to keep the mean position of the platform horizontal and to keep the turbine as upright as possible.

According to Principle Power, unlike conventional offshore wind turbines, the stabilization features of the WindFloat allow the platform to withstand the high wind and wave energy found in deeper waters. Wind turbines located far from shore overcome disadvantages of their close-to-shore counterparts because they do not block the shore view and lessen navigational obstructions and potential hazards to water vessel and aircraft while tapping into previously inaccessible wind resources.

Article by David Gibbs, a contributor to Green Patent Blog. David is currently in his third and final year at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. He received his undergraduate degree in Geology from the University of California, Berkeley.

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Emerson is a “diversified global manufacturing and technology company.” Emerson offers a large variety of services and products in the consumer, commercial and industrial markets via network power, industrial automation, process management, tools and storage, and climate technologies. Because of what Emerson does, it does a lot for the clean technology industry.

1 ) Emerson Process Management offers the best kind of wireless technology possible that allows businesses to monitor their safety equipment, including eyewash stations, so action can be taken much sooner if an incident were to occur. The products and services Emerson Process Management offers also assists in minimizing hazard, clean-up and expense of environmental releases through the process of providing quick notification and accurate logging of all environmental excursions, including monitor safety showers, environmental compliance, and accurately measure all emissions.

2 ) Emerson Network Power has designed capabilities that are able to deliver reliable power, connectivity, precision cooling, and embedded solutions. Their innovative solutions allow businesses to check and monitor all their IT centers. However, other products allow businesses to check things such as their overall energy consumption. These tools assist businesses in determining how much energy they are using so they can look for ways to decrease energy consumption.

3 ) Emerson Industrial Automation is concerned with sustainability and looks to help drive sustainability in the market. For example, for over 20 years S SB Wind Systems has been one of the top providers of pitch-control systems, software and services for wind turbines, and switch and control cabinets. These products offer the industry advanced safety features, greatest dependability, and highest energy output. JAURE, in another example, supplies the couplings used to transmit rotational force from wind turbine blades to generating equipment. To convert natural sources of energy into viable electricity, Control Techniques supplies grid tie inverters utilized in a majority of large-scale photovoltaic power plants around the world.

4 ) Emerson Solutions Assists Customers Convert Biomass to Low-Cost Energy. It is helping a number of municipalities and companies convert their waste and biomass into efficient and reliable renewable energy along with much lower carbon emissions. “Biomass-to-energy conversion is the fastest-growing segment of the energy business,” said Steve Sonnenberg, president of Emerson Process Management. “Faced with high energy costs and environmental goals, our customers recognize they can retrofit decades-old plants to convert their own waste streams into environmentally friendly and low-cost sources of power, which is a plus to both the environment and their bottom line.”

5 ) Emerson Global Data Center Receives Dramatic Energy Efficiency Gains. Emerson’s Global Data Center at its headquarters has posted very good remarkable energy efficiency and availability metrics since opening in 2009. Emerson closed a number of large data centers and posted it all to their campus. It has assisted Emerson in reducing power consumption by over 50 percent. As well, the center boasts a 7,800 square-foot rooftop solar array that produced an average of 14,250 kilowatt hours every month. “The stellar operation of our new data center in its first year is a testament to the supreme planning that went into its design and the innovative, can-do spirit of the team that manages its operation,” said Kathy McElligott, vice president and chief information officer, Emerson. “Although there have been times when the utility power went out or some other type of power issue occurred, the data center and the Emerson technologies within it responded exactly as designed. The Liebert uninterruptible power supply systems, ASCO power transfer switches, and other Emerson Network Power technologies performed flawlessly, enabling the center to be always on.”

6 ) Solar Power. Emerson is looking to capture and convert the sun’s energy in a more efficient manner. For example, Emerson Industrial Automation designs as well as manufactures tracking systems to ensure solar arrays are completely positioned to get maximum exposure of the sun. Emerson also designs a number of “ready to run” solar e-houses, which are pre-built steel or concrete shelters used for switchgear, transformers, inverters and other equipment that needs to be transported as well as installed at any solar site. As well, Emerson Process Management is one of the main providers of process control systems utilized by utility-scale solar providers.

7 ) Wind Power. Emerson is known for providing the technologies necessary for commercial wind turbine manufacturers since the 1980s. Emerson Industrial Automation is a major international leader in the development of intelligent controls and pitch drives for the wind turbine industry. Emerson Network Power is known for developing wind turbine converters that are specially designed for the wind farm industry in China and its power grid.

8 ) Emerson Process Management Signs Global Agreement with SHEC Energy. This new agreement brings solar thermal power plants online. The advanced automation services provided by Emerson were chosen by SHEC Energy to increase overall efficiency and reliability of new renewable energy projects throughout the globe as well as assist the company in reducing the cost of power generated from the projects to become competitive. The president of Emerson Process Management, Steve Sonnenbert, said that the partnership between SHEC Energy and Emerson will allow the company to expand in a much more sustainable manner throughout the solar generation industry.

9 ) Emerson Electric Goes for Smart Data Centers. Emerson Electric is looking to introduce a new technology in 2011 called Trellis. Trellis enables companies to reduce their energy bills and infrastructure spending as well as better allocate the staff that manages everything. Trellis looks to make hardware smarter, like allowing company managers to be alerted before data loss or broken connections, providing the ability for data centers to spend less money on energy and components.

10 ) Emerson Supplies Automation Technology for Biomass Boiler in Poland. In August 2011, Emerson Process Management supplied the automation technology for a biomass boiler that is currently under construction in Polaniec Power Station in Poland. The 190 megawatt biomass-fired circulating fluidized-bed will provide effective carbon dioxide emissions reduction.

Article by Shawn Lesser, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Atlanta-based Watershed Capital Group – an investment bank assisting sustainable fund and companies raise capital, perform acquisitions, and in other strategic financial decisions. He is also a Co-founder of the GCCA Global Cleantech Cluster Association ”The Global Voice of Cleantech”. He writes for various cleantech publications and is known as the David Letterman of Cleantech for his “Top 10″ series. He can be reached at shawn@watershedcapital.com

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Ioxus is a manufacturer of premium performance ultracapacitor technology for transportation, alternative energy, medical, industrial and consumer markets. Ioxus has focused on improving capacitor technology, specializing in electric double layer capacitors (EDLC).

The Oneonta, New York, company recently announced the release of its 16V/58F iMOD Ultracapacitor Module Series for alternative energy markets (pictured above).

The iMOD is an ultracapacitor comprising a plurality of in-line high voltage capacitors which provide power for such green technologies as wind turbine pitch control systems, start and drive systems on hybrid vehicles, and power conditioning for renewable energy systems. The iMOD allows for in-line high voltage capacitors sized to parallel or replace common battery sizes.

According to Cleantech PatentEdge™, Ioxus currently owns one U.S. utility patent and has at least four pending U.S. patent applications, all relating to ultracapacitor technology.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0053844 (’844 Application) is entitled “High voltage EDLC cell and method for the manufacture thereof” and directed to an EDLC having a unit cell structure with alternately interleaved electrodes formed lithographically and a separator between the electrodes and impregnating an electrolyte therein. The ’844 Application also describes a manufacturing process for the EDLC cells.

U.S. Patent No. 7,830,646, is entitled “Multi electrode series connected arrangement supercapacitor” and directed to an EDLC series stack formed into a single electrolyte cell structure. The figure below shows a complete 12-volt EDLC in a poly bag package.

An EDLC device (10) includes five concatenated electrode assemblies (34-38). Voltage monitor/control tabs (39-42) extend external to poly bag (31), which provides a lightweight, puncture resistant, air-tight seal for the cell stack. The power tabs (32, 33) and voltage monitor/control tabs (39-42) provide the complete electrical interface.

Ioxus ultracapacitors have many applications in green technology. For example, they have previously been used on wind turbines to control the pitch of rotor blades relative to wind speed in order to maximize efficiency. Rotor blade pitch control is also used as a safety feature to slow or stop the turbine when wind speeds are too high or in the event the turbine loses connection to the grid.

Compared to batteries, ultracapacitors are preferred for use in wind turbines due to their light weight, solid state design, and ability to operate in cold conditions. Ultracapacitors also require very little maintenance and have an approximate ten-year life span – twice as long as most batteries.

According to Ioxus’ press release, the iMOD modules deliver easy to install, ready to use, and durable ultracapacitor modules at a lower price and with improved cell balancing.

According to Chad Hall, Ioxus Founder and Vice-President of Sales, “This is a complete, ready to install package. You can go up to 750V without any external management, you can run parallel to a 12V battery or replace a 12V battery. It’s ruggedized to handle insustrial environments.”

While ultracapacitors charge quickly, they are limited in application as they also discharge quickly. They are ideal when relatively short bursts of electricity are needed. As this technology improves, its application will undoubtedly increase.

Are ultracapacitors the new battery? Due to their lack of long term power delivery, ultracapacitors are not ready to replace batteries yet, however, they are certainly preferred in some situations.

Article by David Gibbs, a contributor to Green Patent Blog. David is currently in his third and final year at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. He received his undergraduate degree in Geology from the University of California, Berkeley.

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Are you a weather junky? I am. After all, I make plans, dress and tend my garden around what’s happening outside. While utilities have always used weather forecasts as part of their operations, our energy future is becoming increasingly more dependent on predicting the weather in a high-tech, sophisticated kind of way that goes beyond my backyard barometer and rain gauge.

Accurate Forecasts Save Money
We (Xcel Energy) often touts that we are the nation’s No. 1 wind energy provider (according to the American Wind Energy Association). This means that more than other utilities, we are finding ways to squeeze as much energy as possible from every turbine on our system. The fact is, better weather forecasting is one key to further developing wind technology as a more affordable, efficient energy resource for our customers.

We first wrote about this highly detailed forecasting system last March, and in October, our company formally took the system over from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), which helped us develop it further. Since we began working with NCAR in 2009, the system has proven to be 35 percent more accurate than previous methods. This improvement resulted in savings of about $6 million in fuel costs.

According to Eric Pierce, managing director of energy trading/commercial operations for Xcel Energy, “This new forecasting system will enable us to harness wind far more effectively while saving millions of dollars for our customers.” As an employee and a customer, this sounds good to me.

Efficiency = $
Today we don’t have a cost-effective way to store large amounts of energy on our system – regardless of how it’s generated. Energy produced must immediately be consumed. If we can more accurately manage our system to power down coal or natural gas plants to make way for anticipated wind energy, we save fuel. But, if the wind doesn’t blow as anticipated, we may not be able to increase production at coal or natural gas plants quickly enough, forcing us to buy costly power on the spot market. Accurate forecasts are essential to improve our system operations and see cost savings.

Forecasting wind around turbines is challenging because landscape features in specific locations, such as hills and trees, can reshape the wind speed and direction and cause turbulence in ways that may greatly influence the amount of energy a turbine produces. Also, most forecasting models are designed to provide information about winds at ground level rather than at 200 feet where turbine hubs are located.

To generate these area- and turbine-specific forecasts, the NCAR system incorporates observations of current atmospheric conditions from a variety of sources, including satellites, aircraft, weather radars, ground-based weather stations, and sensors on the wind turbines themselves.

While we are officially operating the system, we plan to continue working with NCAR to make refinements and further improve accuracy.

Benefits for All
We are fortunate to operate in states with excellent wind energy resources – Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas and New Mexico. In general, this type of detailed forecasting will help manufacturers and operators across the country improve the ability to harness wind blowing at different speeds and directions and in other locations.

Article by Pam Butler, appearing courtesy Xcel Energy Blog.

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The advancement in offshore wind power technology has led to larger turbines and larger wind farms being deployed throughout Europe. Where previously wind farms had been thought of as single distributed power generators, they must now be considered as integral components of the overall energy supply system, and be subject to the same regulations as other types of power generation.

The European Wind Energy Association estimates that by 2020 between 14.4% and 16.7 % of the EU’s electricity supply will be sourced from wind energy, both on land and offshore. The European Commission’s energy strategy for Europe suggests that up to 12% of this will be supplied by offshore wind farms.

Due to the increase in the size of wind farms, and the requirement of Europe’s TSO’s (Transmission System Operators) to integrate them into the network, grid code compliance rules have been implemented to ensure that offshore wind farms contribute to the system, and behave in the same way as conventional generators. Before connection to the grid, wind turbines and wind farms must certify that they comply with regulations surrounding frequency dependant active power supply (frequency control), Voltage control – both steady state and dynamic, Voltage dependant reactive power injection and absorption, and fault ride through stability.

It is only recently that grid codes have been amended to account for wind energy, and there may be further technical requirements implemented in the future as the face of the European grid network is due to change dramatically over the next fifty years. More coordination is required from the EU, EWEA, TSO’s, and the wind energy industry as a group to create standards and regulations across the board that turbine manufacturers and network operators can use as guidelines. The opportunity exists to develop a blueprint that will allow the planning and initiation of the design of new turbines and wind farms and the installation of network services to go hand in hand.

Article by IQPC,a leading organizer of about 2,000 worldwide conferences, seminars, and related learning programs every year. The company is organizing the Grid Integration of Offshore Wind Energy Conference from 05 – 07 December, 2011 at the Clarion Hotel Copenhagen, Denmark. Free whitepapers, articles and podcasts on grid integration of offshore wind energy are available on the website.

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