BlueGen units to be used in Virtual Power Plant Project in The Netherlands

19 June 2012

Tuesday 19 June 2012

View a Bluegen overview here

BlueGen units to be used in Virtual Power Plant Project in The Netherlands

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (AIM / ASX: CFU) - a leading developer of high efficiency and low emission electricity generation products for homes and other buildings - is pleased to announce a project in The Netherlands to create a Virtual Power Plant using Ceramic Fuel Cells' BlueGen gas-to-electricity generators.

BlueGen units are planned to be installed with customers across the Netherlands to create a new community of distributed energy producers, connected through the internet and operated as a Virtual Power Plant.

Ceramic Fuel Cells is supporting its distribution partner BlueGeneration that is working on the project with Liander and IBM. This team will start designing a platform on which the Virtual Power Plant can run. During the design phase BlueGeneration, Liander and IBM will design the technical requirements and define the use cases for the platform.

Liander is a Dutch regional network operator, distributing electricity to 3.0 million customers and gas to 2.3 million customers in a large part of the Netherlands. IBM will provide the necessary system integration to control the BlueGen units remotely. IBM's extensive experience in the field of Smart Grids enables the collaboration to implement and scale up the platform.

The project partners have entered the first phase of the project, with three BlueGen units installed with energy consultants' KIWA Gastec for testing at their facilities in Apeldoorn. The aim is to test the compatibility with the designed systems and to have a closed and regulated environment for the first tests. During this test phase of approximately one year the influence of extreme modulation cycles will also be examined as well as the impact for the grid operator.

The tests at Kiwa began in April 2012. The partners are currently developing the Virtual Power Plant design, and intend to scale up the project in the second half of this calendar year and into 2013.

A Virtual Power Plant is a cluster of distributed electricity generation units, controlled and operated by a central entity using integrated software systems. A Virtual Power Plant allows power generation to be modulated up or down to meet peak loads and balance intermittent power from wind or solar, with higher efficiency and more flexibility than large centralised power stations.

By incorporating the Virtual Power Plant in Lianders' Smart Grid, Liander will be able to locally balance the demand and supply of electricity. The end customers will benefit from lower energy costs.

Ceramic Fuel Cells' Managing Director Brendan Dow said:

"Clearly, energy generation systems of the future will involve projects like this. We are delighted that companies like Liander and IBM, as well as our partner BlueGeneration, have seen the benefit of pursuing this virtual power plant, which has our highly-efficient BlueGen units as its cornerstone."

Peter van der Sluijs, Liander said:

"In the future we expect more and more customers to produce their own power and coordinate their energy use locally. Virtual power plants are a big step towards more sustainable energy system where local generation has a critical role."

Matthijs Guichelaar of BlueGeneration said:

"This project is the example of how future flows of energy and IT can provide a solid base for renewable and distributed generation. The flexibility of the BlueGen and its high efficient electricity production makes it a very suitable component for the new Smart Grid. When the usage of biogas becomes available, the system will also be carbon neutral. This enables the agricultural sector to efficiently convert their biogas into electricity."

The BlueGen product uses ceramic fuel cells to turn natural gas into electricity and heat for hot water, with each unit capable of producing more than three times the electricity needed to power the average Dutch home. (In The Netherlands an average home consumes an estimated 3,500 kilowatt hours of electricity per year.)

Surplus electricity can be sold back to the grid or used in supplementary applications such as charging electric cars, as well as having the additional benefit of providing heat for domestic hot water use. BlueGen units generate electricity with the highest electrical efficiency of any small scale generating technology in the world, reducing energy bills and cutting carbon emissions.

In the Netherlands customers are allowed to export electricity to the grid when they have a surplus and take it back from the grid later when they need it without being charged with energy tax on this energy. This tax-free interchange has a maximum of 5000 kWh per year.

According to a report from US analyst firm Pike Research, virtual power plant capacity will increase by 65 percent between 2011 and 2017, rising from 55.6 gigawatts (GW) to 91.7 GW worldwide during that period. In a more aggressive forecast scenario, the capacity growth is up to 126 percent during the same period.

Releasing the report in November 2011, Pike Research senior analyst Peter Asmus said: "Virtual power plants essentially represent an 'Internet of Energy', tapping existing grid networks to tailor electricity supply and demand services for a customer. They maximize value for both the end user and distribution utility, primarily through software innovations."(1)

ENDS

Foreign manufacturers of electric cars in China can own only minority shares and they must surrender intellectual property

Foreign manufacturers of electric cars in China can own only minority shares and they must surrender intellectual property on at least one of what the government considers to be the three key enabling technologies for e-mobility. These are batteries, motors and control electronics. In exchange, foreigners gain access to a market they hope will be large enough to create cash flow that can be repatriated if the dominant partner approves. Unfortunately for them, electric bikes, and, at the other extreme, electric buses and trains consume one fifth of the energy per passenger kilometer of electric cars. Add to this the fact that China can never build enough roads, charging or parking places for cars and it is clear that the domestic car market in China must be treated with caution. That formidable country is actually creating, on the cheap, a huge export business in electromobility.

For those outside China, there is better news, however. Most countries have plenty of space for cars and there is reason to predict a robust business in all forms of electric vehicle, whether or not they are made in China. This is partially because the technology is changing very rapidly, giving an advantage to those doing major research and development. AC motors are often taking over from DC ones. The AC motor's electronic circuitry - a very different skill - is often replacing DC commutator metalwork. Electronic circuitry, including control electronics for EVs, is becoming laminated and even printed to save space, weight and cost and improve reliability. Batteries are going partly from inorganic to organic chemistry and back again in a very different form and here liquid handling giving way to printing and other deposition of solids. That addresses challenges such as improving safety and energy density (range) at the same time. Sion Energy and Planar Energy of the USA, Oxis Energy of the UK, and for key materials, Dow Chemical of the USA are among the ones to watch here, as the West seeks to leapfrog the dominant East Asian Li-ion battery manufacturing.

There is more. A fourth key enabling technology has appeared. It is energy harvesting, converting ambient energy to electricity to charge the traction battery or at least run wireless sensors, lighting and actuators. This reduces weight to increase vehicle range and it increases space and improves safety. Previously, a photovoltaic roof on a car only provided 50 watts or so - certainly of no use in charging batteries. However, the small Asola Automotive Solar Deutschland GmbH silicon roof panel on the Fisker Karma hybrid sports car generates over 100 watts peak. The new bendable and sometimes flexible and conformal Dye Sensitised Solar Cells DSSC work well with low levels and angles of light and with polarised light off windows and water and even with infrared. Put them on the sides, undersides and even insides of electric vehicles and kilowatts are in prospect. New flexible copper indium gallium diselenide CIGS photovoltaics is already seen around complex shapes of aircraft and surface boats, such as those by Grove Boats and Kopf Solarschiff of Germany. The University of Michigan and the ENFICA-FC project in Italy funded by the European Commission are among those shaping solar panels onto unmanned electric aircraft.

Meanwhile, large and small electric vehicles on land and sea are showing the feasibility of electrodynamic energy harvesting generating up to a massive ten kilowatts or more. From the old bicycle dynamo we went to the now well understood technology of regenerative braking - motors of on-road vehicles working in reverse to grab back electricity during braking. Valence Technology of the USA with family yacht maker Beneteau of France has now moved on to do the equivalent thing with ocean going yachts. The propeller is dragged in reverse when the vessel is under sail, thus charging powerful lithium-ion batteries so they operate electrics silently when the craft is moored. Callender Designs of the UK has something similar in its superyachts combined with rigid solar sails.

Further, we now have superyachts scooping water into a hydro turbine when under sail to charge second generation, safer lithium-ion batteries. Indeed, the largest design of Paracas Yachts in Miami is a 48 meter superyacht that can produce enough stored electricity for its refrigeration, air conditioning and other "hotel facilities" for one week just by sailing for an afternoon. Hydro-Kinetic Designs in the USA is now moving such technology into working vessels. These and other craft innovate in many other ways thanks to electric drive systems. For example, the propellers are far more efficient because they are suspended in pods with their electric motors, there being no propeller shaft. Some ships and boats use electrodynamic harvesting in the form of computer controlled kites sweeping an optimal figure of eight to charge the traction batteries.

You can now buy an electric aircraft that soars as a glider to charge the batteries by reversing the propeller and a similar thing seems to be feasible with underwater electric vehicles. Some vehicles erect a wind turbine to charge the battery when they are stationary. However, the most widely applicable powerful energy harvesting is yet another electrodynamic option - the energy harvesting damper or shock absorber. A set on a bus or truck generates a very useful ten kilowatts. Leader here is Levant Power Corporation of the USA which also targets pure electric Autonomous Underwater Vehicles UAVs to benefit from their devices. Some AUVs already combine photovoltaics and wave harvesting. On the other hand, in its owner's 78 meter superyacht, Sauter Carbon Offset Design in Bali has a motion damping system that generates an incredible 100 kW. Here the lithium-ion battery is part of the damping pendulum employed. The humble bike dynamo has come a long way.

The closely linked energy storage is also rapidly evolving beyond batteries. While some concentrate on making third generation highest energy density batteries a safe reality, Elon Musk founder of Tesla Motors has expressed the opinion that supercapacitors (ultracapacitors) are key to future energy storage in electric vehicles, even replacing batteries. Indeed, it is already clear that, with them incorporated in electric bikes and buses to boost battery performance, there is more to come. Developers such as Nanotecture of the UK and OptiXtal of the USA are widening the repertoire to so- called asymmetric electrochemical supercapacitors (supercabatteries) combining the best of batteries and supercapacitors and OptiXtal describes wide area flexible ones that can form part of the skin of an electric vehicle and tiny microdot ones to incorporate in the plethora of wireless sensors and actuators in modern e-mobility. OptiXtal has pioneered the creation of low ESR, ultrathin, and flexible supercapacitors to optimally fill available space.

Multiple energy harvesting is now a key enabling technology for electric vehicles whether they travel on or off-road by land, on or under water or in the air. Just don't tell the Chinese.

All this and more will be aired at the unique electromobility event Electric Vehicles: Land, Sea & Air Europe 2011 in Stuttgart, Germany 28-29 June covering the whole subject for the first time. Most of the above companies will be presenting alongside a large number of other vehicle manufacturers, including Daimler, Tesla, Opel and Tata the largest automotive company in India, and organisations leading the next wave of radically different electric vehicle technology, including start up CHE-EVC of the UK on a very different intelligent Li battery system and Mitsubishi of Japan and Siemens of Germany on a totally new approach to charging systems.

Electric Vehicles: Land, Sea & Air Europe 2011 will include two full days of conference proceedings and an exhibition floor. In addition, there will be technical masterclasses, an awards dinner, and plenty of opportunities for networking. For full details on the event, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/evEurope.

BlueGen to participate in the UK's largest Smart Grid project 06 May 2011

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited

06 May 2011

03 May 2011

BlueGen to participate in the UK's largest Smart Grid project

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (CFCL) today announced that BlueGen is to participate in CE Electric UK's GBP54 million low-carbon Smart Grid project. Durham University is one of the four partners involved with the project.

CFCL's BlueGen microgeneration heat and power unit will be housed in the Durham Energy Institute research laboratory. BlueGen will run alongside other low-carbon electricity generating technologies and will, via the project, help shape the future for a low-emission, more efficient power grid across the UK.

It is estimated that improvements to the power grid that result from the project could potentially save homes and businesses across the UK around GBP8 billion* in energy costs and 43 million tonnes* of CO(2) emissions. * Source Durham University, 10 October 2010.

The Smart Grid project involves 14,000 homes and businesses and will assess the impact of technologies such as micro combined heat and power units on the electricity grid and lay the foundations for helping electricity consumers to reduce their carbon footprint, cut energy use and save money.

BlueGen converts natural gas into electricity far more efficiently and with lower emissions than the current power grid, providing significant cost and carbon savings.

BlueGen generates electricity that can be used within the home, with the surplus fed back into the National Grid or used in supplementary applications such as charging an electric car, and has the additional benefit of providing heat for domestic hot water use.

The installation of BlueGen will not only prove the benefits of micro cogeneration but will also help Durham University highlight its leading position in the move towards a low carbon economy.

Commenting on the announcement, Paddy Thompson, General Manager Business Development, CFCL said:

"The integration of BlueGen into the Smart Grid project will prove that the technology needed to create a low-emission, highly efficient power grid for the future exists today, and its use is a significant step towards achieving far-reaching cost and environmental benefits for the UK.

"BlueGen has the potential to play a significant role in the low-carbon Smart Grid, and we are delighted that its installation at the Durham Energy Institute is recognition of this potential."

Professor Phil Taylor, Durham Energy Institute, Durham University added:

"We are excited about the opportunity of researching how BlueGen can work alongside other technologies and are grateful to One North East for their support. We fully intend to use BlueGen as part of our low carbon network project."

For further information:

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited

Paddy Thompson

General Manager Business Development +44 7968 356 439

Mark Way +44 7786 116991

Corporate Communications

For the UK Which domestic renewables incentive is best?

Adam Mactavish of Cyril Sweett provides a brief review of the incentive schemes for domestic renewables

A few years ago only the most dedicated developers (or those with tough planning requirements to meet) contemplated the use of renewable energy in new housing, while only the greenest of homeowners would consider retrofitting them into their properties. The cost, hassle and risks associated with the technologies were just too high.

A raft of new incentive schemes is rapidly changing attitudes. In fact, demand has been so high, with nearly 200MW (or 150 hectares) of large scale “solar farms” in the planning system, that the government has reduced its support for larger scale solar electric (PV) systems (those above 50kWp). Uptake of PV in the domestic sector has been broadly in line with expectations with about 15,000 small (less than 4kW) registered installations at the end of last year.

The same but different
Two incentive schemes are relevant to the domestic sector: feed-in tariffs (FIT) that support the generation of renewable electricity and the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which focuses on technologies that generate heat. The structure of the schemes is similar, although the funding roots differ, with FITs paid for through utility bills and RHI money coming from government budgets.

From the domestic perspective, the key difference between the schemes is that while FITs are already available you will need to wait until 2012 to be able to claim RHI monies for domestic properties. This is because the RHI is being launched in two phases, the first of which, from 2011, only focuses on larger scale heat installations. In the second phase, from 2012, domestic scale installations will also be eligible for payments. The start of this second phase will coincide with the launch of the Green Deal, meaning that homeowners will be able to undertake both energy efficiency measures and install renewable technologies in a co-ordinated way.

For both schemes, any compliant technologies installed after 15 July 2009 will be eligible for payments, but payments under the RHI will not begin until 2012.

Together, FITs and the RHI provide support for most of the major forms of domestic renewable energy including PV, wind, solar water heating, biomass and ground source heat pumps. One notable omission is the air source heat pump. However, the government has stated it intends to introduce support for this technology for domestic property in the “second phase” of the RHI in 2012.

Some support for the domestic sector is included in the first phase of the RHI. This will take the form of Renewable Heat Premium Payments from a total fund of £15m. The payments will help subsidise the costs of installation in return for information from the households on their experience of using the technology. Details of these payments will be set out in May 2011 with the first payments made in July.

What are they worth?
The support offered by FIT and RHI varies significantly between technology types. The tariffs for typical domestic installations are shown in the table below.




Tariffs for the technologies supported by the RHI are set for larger scale use. This is justified on the basis that larger installations will offer the most cost-effective means of generating renewable heat. It is not clear whether additional domestic-scale tariffs will be introduced before the second phase.

Assessing whether these incentives make renewables a sound investment involves consideration of several factors:

Size

For heating technologies, the appropriate system size will vary according to home type, size and energy efficiency level.
For power technologies the system size will be limited by the extent of roof area.
Installation costs

The domestic renewables sector is establishing itself in the UK. However, costs still vary significantly for the same technologies. Careful assessment of different providers and delivery options is important to getting the right level of cost and risk.
Technologies and installers need to be Micro Certification Scheme-approved.
Allowance must be made for the full range of cost items including, for example, fuel storage for biomass and scaffolding and connection costs (for solar hot water or PV).
For retrofit of technologies into existing homes it is important to consider access and integration of the incoming technology with existing systems. For example, a heat pump system will not work well in a poorly insulated property with radiators.
Running costs

All renewable technologies will require servicing and replacement of components. For “non-essential” technologies such as solar hot water and PV the system must remain operational for tariff payments to continue.
Biomass and heat pump systems will require fuels and this must be factored into any assessment. It is likely that the costs of electricity will continue to rise in the future and probably at a faster rate than gas prices.
Tariff levels

Tariff levels are fixed at the year of installation but are subject to inflation.
Tariff levels are subject to periodic reviews and, in the case of FITs, planned degression - reductions in tariff levels to compensate for predicted reductions in technology costs.
Export income and avoided energy costs

A percentage of the power generated by PV systems will be exported to the grid. This is assumed to be 50%. However, in some cases, for example where nobody is at home during the day, the export percentage may be much higher. All power exported to the grid can be sold at 3p per kWh.
Use of energy from PV or solar hot water within the home will reduce the requirement for fuel or power from the grid. This avoided energy cost can be significant, particularly for properties that are off gas where the heating is delivered using oil or electricity.
Warranty

Many technologies will be supplied with reasonable warranties (for example, 25 years for PV panels). However, it is important to consider the organisation providing the warranty and the fallback position should the organisation fail.
Warranties for watertightness or other associated impacts must also be considered. The NHBC has introduced guidance on the criteria they will consider when assessing whether they will provide a warranty for homes with renewable technologies.
The table attached summarises costs, benefits and returns offered by different systems in a typical new (Part L 2010) end of terrace house (about 75m2). Analysis is based on survey of technology costs by Cyril Sweett for the Zero Carbon Hub.

Conclusion
It is clear that for housing the FIT provides a more valuable incentive than the RHI, partly because the RHI tariff levels are set for maximum system sizes that are larger than would be used in homes. A further factor reducing the cost effectiveness of the RHI in new homes is their low heat demand compared with existing housing and industrial uses. While incentives for using PV remain strong, RHI tariffs for domestic scale technologies will need to be higher if they are to prompt many installations.

As the second phase of the scheme will coincide with the Green Deal we should hope that the opportunity to support investment in energy efficiency and low-carbon heat is maximised.

From building.co.uk

New Tower Design Enables Higher Annual Energy Production and Less Impact from Turbulence

• New Tower Design Enables Higher Annual Energy Production and Less Impact from Turbulence;
• Hub Heights in Excess of 130 Meters Now Available;
• Taller Towers Increase Potential Wind Site Options.

The new towers enable higher annual energy production (AEP) and increase the number of potential wind sites. The towers initially will be offered for GE’s 2.5-MW series including the new 2.75-103 wind turbine. The taller towers are available with hub heights in excess of 130 meters.

“We continuously strive to increase value for our customers. The taller tower, which will also be available for our new 2.75-103, is the next step in our evolutionary product portfolio,” said Stephan Ritter, general manager of GE Renewable Energy Europe. “With taller towers, more sites become attractive wind farm locations. The increased height also offers more customer value through higher winds and a reduction in the impact of turbulence resulting in higher annual energy production.”

The taller tower will have a robust hybrid pre-cast concrete and tubular steel design. This construction offers an optimal balance between customer value and advanced technology while reducing logistical challenges. The new tower is an especially good fit for densely forested areas and hillside locations that are prone to high turbulence intensity.

Initial key markets for the new, taller GE wind turbine towers will be Germany, Scandinavia, Poland, Romania and Canada.

For wind turbine sales visit www.orionairsales.com

RWE's first 48 wind turbine offshore vessel for wind energy

The ship will take the transport of 48 wind turbines of the six-megawatt class. Full completion of the “Nordsee Ost” wind farm is planned for 2013. The wind power plant of 295 MW will supply 295,000 homes in Germany.



The first of two offshore installation vessels owned by RWE was officially launched after only seven months of construction. The works are thus already a month ahead of the original time schedule. The final large-scale components, the main crane and the jack-up legs, will be installed over the next few weeks. First tests, the so-called sea trials, are scheduled for July and August. On completion in autumn, the installation vessel will be the first of its kind worldwide than can transport up to four offshore wind turbines of the multi-megawatt class at the same time and erect them in water depths of more than 40 metres.

RWE Innogy had already placed the order for construction of two identical offshore installation ships with the Korean shipyard at the end of last year. The contract value for each of these socalled “Jack-up Platforms” is around EUR 100 million. Completion of the first platform is planned for autumn of 2011. From then on, the installation ship will be operated from its home port of Bremerhaven in the construction of the “Nordsee Ost” wind farm and begin placing the first foundations in the German Bight. The installation ship will set sail with two jacket foundations every week. Later it will take over the transport and installation of a total of 48 wind turbines of the six-megawatt class. Full completion of the “Nordsee Ost” wind farm is planned for 2013. From then on, the wind power plant with installed power of 295 megawatts will supply the equivalent of 295,000 homes in Germany with electricity every year.

Besides the “Nordsee Ost” wind farm, RWE Innogy is developing the offshore wind farm “Innogy Nordsee 1” in German territorial waters. At around 960 megawatts (MW) of installed power, this will be the biggest offshore wind farm planned off the German coast. It will be built in an area of 150 square kilometres some 40 kilometres to the north of the North Sea island of Juist.

Off the north coast of Wales, RWE Innogy is already operating the offshore wind farms North Hoyle (60 MW) and Rhyl Flats (90 MW). The decision was recently taken to build a third wind power plant off the coat of Wales, Gwynt y Môr (576 MW). The second, identical, installation ship will be used to build that farm. In addition, the company presently has a 50 percent stake in the construction of the 504 MW wind farm Greater Gabbard off the southeast coast of England. Alone or with partners, RWE Innogy is presently developing further major projects in the UK, such as Triton Knoll (1,200 MW), Atlantic Array (1,500 MW), Galloper (500 MW) and Dogger Bank (around 9,000 MW). In Belgium, the company is also involved in the Thornton Bank wind farm, which in its first stage (30 MW) is already in commercial operation, and is also developing the offshore wind power project Tromp Binnen (300 MW) in the Netherlands.

The Windy Boy 1700W is the perfect solution for the smallest wind energy systems with low generator voltage

The Windy Boy 1700W is the perfect solution for the smallest wind energy systems with low generator voltage: turbines with a nominal voltage of 24 or 48 V can be connected without an additional voltage converter.

The programmable polynomial curve gives you full flexibility for choosing the turbine, while its
weatherproof enclosure and the wide temperature range allow for installation at nearly any location. As an inverter for wind energy systems, the Windy Boy is optimally adjusted to fast and frequent load changes. Its minimum internal consumption during a calm also increases the yield, which you can monitor at any time using the display and different communication interfaces.

The inverters can be located as close to the wind turbine as desired (even on the tower, IP65 protection), eliminating long DC wire runs. Connection to the mains is via the house consumer unit. Inverters automatically shut down in the event of: High/Low grid AC voltage; High/Low grid frequency; Grid failure; or Inverter malfunction. An additional wind turbine controller is required. It is most important that the DC input voltage to the Windy Boy never rises above the maximum permitted even if the Windy Boy shuts down eg. During a power cut.


Operating state monitoring and data acquisition are carried out within the Windy Boy inverter. Wind turbine voltage; mains voltage & frequency; input current & power; operating hours and generated kWh energy are measured. Inverters include displays to show essential information or all values can be accessed centrally via a PC or a Sunny Boy Control unit using a choice of communication methods

Versions of Sunny Boy inverters designed to be used with wind turbines. "Turbine mode" allows the inverter to follow the wind turbine power curve. Units can be linked in parallel allowing operation with a wide variety of wind turbines and to give maximum efficiency.

Key Product:



Max DC Input Power: 1850W
Max DC Voltage: 400V - Max Input Current: 12.6A
Max AC Power: 1700W
Dimensions: 434 x 295 x 214mm
Weight: 25kg
Fully tested and compliant with UK G83 grid connection regulations.

The Windy Boy 1200W is the perfect solution for the smallest wind energy systems

The Windy Boy 1200W is the perfect solution for the smallest wind energy systems with low generator voltage: turbines with a nominal voltage of 24 or 48 V can be connected without an additional voltage converter.

The programmable polynomial curve gives you full flexibility for choosing the turbine, while its
weatherproof enclosure and the wide temperature range allow for installation at nearly any location. As an inverter for wind energy systems, the Windy Boy is optimally adjusted to fast and frequent load changes. Its minimum internal consumption during a calm also increases the yield, which you can monitor at any time using the display and different communication interfaces.

The inverters can be located as close to the wind turbine as desired (even on the tower, IP65 protection), eliminating long DC wire runs. Connection to the mains is via the house consumer unit. Inverters automatically shut down in the event of: High/Low grid AC voltage; High/Low grid frequency; Grid failure; or Inverter malfunction. An additional wind turbine controller is required. It is most important that the DC input voltage to the Windy Boy never rises above the maximum permitted even if the Windy Boy shuts down eg. During a power cut.


Operating state monitoring and data acquisition are carried out within the Windy Boy inverter. Wind turbine voltage; mains voltage & frequency; input current & power; operating hours and generated kWh energy are measured. Inverters include displays to show essential information or all values can be accessed centrally via a PC or a Sunny Boy Control unit using a choice of communication methods

Versions of Sunny Boy inverters designed to be used with wind turbines. "Turbine mode" allows the inverter to follow the wind turbine power curve. Units can be linked in parallel allowing operation with a wide variety of wind turbines and to give maximum efficiency.

Key Product:



Max DC Input Power: 1320W
Max DC Voltage: 400V - Max Input Current: 10A
Max AC Power: 1100W
Dimensions: 434 x 295 x 214mm
Weight: 22kg
Fully tested and compliant with UK G83 grid connection regulations.Max DC Input Power: 1320W

Max DC Voltage: 400V - Max Input Current: 10A
Max AC Power: 1100W
Dimensions: 434 x 295 x 214mm
Weight: 22kg
Fully tested and compliant with UK G83 grid connection regulations.

Sheffield has big hopes to become the UK’s very first self-sufficient energy city

Apparently Sheffield has big hopes. In fact, the city is hoping to become the UK’s very first self-sufficient energy city, according to UK energy minister Chris Huhne. On top of all of this, this deal has already been given Huhne’s full support.

While the energy minister was visiting the city, he stopped by the University of Sheffield. It is here where they are working on world leading research in sustainable technology. Overall, the goal is to come up with technology that can help a city become fully sustainable.

His visit to this city follows an announcement made by the Sheffield City Council and energy company E.ON. They have announced that they are working hard to form a city-wide partnership that will help the city produce enough renewable energy to become self-sufficient. Overtime, the long-term goal would be for the city to produce enough energy that it could even sell some excess energy back into the national grid.

So this brings up the question, why is E.ON choosing to partner with Sheffield over other cities. Apparently E.ON has chosen Sheffield because of its international expertise on developing renewable energy technology, pretty much meaning that E.ON has faith that Sheffield has the willpower to make such a scheme work.

This is a big deal in the making. The overall goal of the government would be to see other cities make these kind of deals with other energy companies. Overtime, all cities could become self-sufficient and, thus, would be able to supply their own energy. Then all of the excess energy that the UK makes could be sold to other countries.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne praises environmentally-friendly schemes in Bristol

SOME of Bristol's most innovative environmental projects were showcased during a visit by a top Government minister.

A car powered by gas from sewage and £9.4-million plans for a council- owned wind farm in Avonmouth were among the projects showed off to Energy and Climate Change minister Chris Huhne during his tour of the city yesterday.

Mr Huhne said: "Bristol's work to build new industries and jobs around green technologies offers us a glimpse into the future.

"As we face oil prices beyond $100 a barrel and the clearest evidence yet of the physical dangers to the UK of manmade climate change, low carbon is the sure-fire insurance policy with a big economic dividend.


"The city council's plans to build its own wind turbines will generate green electricity and new revenues for the local community."

The Liberal Democrat got behind the wheel of the Bio Bug, a modified Volkswagen Beetle which last year became the UK's first car to run on gas generated from sewage sludge.

Waste recycling company GENeco, which operates the sewage works in Kings Weston Lane, Avonmouth, creates the environmentally-friendly fuel by treating surplus gas.

Mr Huhne also took a look at a plot of council-owned land in Avonmouth which could soon become home to two large wind turbines. If the project takes off, the turbines could generate enough energy to earn the council £1.1 million a year supplying electricity to the National Grid.

Accompanied by city council leader Barbara Janke and councillors Gary Hopkins and Neil Harrison, the minister started his visit at Bristol Port, where he heard from the Bristol Port Company about its new deep-sea container port and plans for offshore renewable industries.

Mr Huhne added: "Bristol Port's plans around offshore wind offer a new future for an established facility. And the bio bug is British innovation at its best. These projects put Bristol ahead of many in seeing the economic and environmental payoffs of shifting to low carbon."

Bristol is one of nine areas receiving funding from the Department of Energy and Climate Change for projects.

Some of the cash will be used to assess all city houses to see whether solar panels can be fitted to them.

In addition, all the city's 34,000 street lights will be updated to be more energy efficient, ten biomass boilers will be fitted in schools and leisure centres and council buildings and schools will also have solar panels installed.

Ms Janke said: "It is very good news that the Energy Secretary is seeing for himself some of our renewable energy projects around the city.

"It is welcome he is taking time to meet with businesses – we have one of the largest environmental technologies sectors in the UK and we want to do all we can to encourage growth and job creation."

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Power Assets Holdings Ltd (0006.HK) is considering a 3.5 billion pound ($5.6 billion) bid for British power network assets of Germany's E.ON AG's (EONGn.DE) (EONG.AS), although no decision has been made, local newspapers reported on Thursday.

The company, part of the business empire of tycoon Li Ka-shing, changed its name from Hongkong Electric Holdings Ltd on Wednesday to reflect the growing importance of its overseas business, including a stake in Britain's second-largest power grid.

Managing director Tso Kai-sum said the company, controlled by Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd (CKI) (1038.HK), "was studying bidding documents", the South China Morning Post reported.

Tso declined to say whether it would team up with CKI to bid for the assets. Power Assets and CKI are both under Li's ports-to-telecoms conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd (0013.HK). They teamed up last year to buy EDF Energy. Plc's (EDF.PA) British network for 5.775 billion pounds.

Li was one of more than two bidders still in the race for the asset and E.ON was keen to complete the transaction in the first quarter, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters last month. [ID:nTOE70N024] (Reporting by Alison Leung; Editing by Chris Lewis)

Offshore Wind Farm in UK begins generating power from its first turbine

Walney Offshore Wind Farm, located 15km west of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, UK, began generating power from its first turbine in January 2011. The turbine is connected to the national grid through an offshore transformer at Heysham.

The project consists of 102 turbines being installed in two phases, Walney I and Walney II. Estimated at £1bn, the project will deliver 367.2MW of combined energy sufficient to power more than 320,000 households in UK.


It is owned by Dong Energy (50.1%), Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE-25.1%) and a consortium of PGGM and Dutch Ampère Equity Fund (24.8%).

Dong Energy is the leading partner and operator of the wind farm. It has signed a 15-year long term power purchase agreement (PPA) with the consortium of PGGM and Dutch Ampère Equity Fund for the purchase of the consortium's share of electricity from the project.

The company plans to sell power purchased from the consortium and the environmental benefits received from the British Government in the local market.

Plant details

Walney is being constructed along a north-west to south-east direction. It will cover an area of approximately 73km².

Walney I and II will each have 51 Siemens turbines with a rated capacity of 3.6MW. The turbines will be 749m-958m apart and installed in rows.

Turbines installed at Walney I will have a rotor diameter of 107m and are 137m tall to the tip of the blade.

Walney II will have turbines with a rotor diameter of 120m. They will have a maximum height of 150m to the centre of the hub.

The turbine arrays will be connected by underwater sea cables to an offshore substation where the voltage will be stepped up from 34kV to 132kV before being exported to an onshore substation.

"Dong Energy is the leading partner and operator of the wind farm."
Development

The project was initially 100% owned by Dong Energy. In December 2009 SSE acquired 25.1% share in the project, which was followed by a consortium of PGGM and Dutch Ampère Equity Fund acquiring 24.8% in December 2010.

The consortium paid £16m to acquire the share. It will also share the project construction cost on a pro-rata basis. The purchase price, however, did not include payment for transmission assets which will be owned by a separate operator in future.

Dong Energy will provide interim finance to the consortium for their share of the construction cost. PGGM / Dutch Ampère Equity Fund will provide external financing to Dong Energy upon completion of the project.

Construction

Construction of Walney I commenced in March 2010. The monopiles were laid by jack-up vessels Vagant and Goliath operated by Belgium-based GeoSea.

The first monopole was installed in April 2010. The export cable was shipped to the site at the same time.

The monopiles are placed 30m deep into the seabed. Each monopile is 56m tall and weighs 550t.

The Walney I offshore substation was placed within the wind farm area. It weighs 1,100t and was erected in June 2010.

Seajacks Kraken and Seajacks Leviathan owned by Seajacks UK have been contracted for the turbine installations in Walney I and Walney II respectively. Sea Worker, a jack-up barge operated by A2Sea, has already installed five wind turbines at the site.

The first turbine was installed in July 2010. It is now generating power for the national grid. All the turbines of Walney I had been installed by December 2010.

The construction vessel Pompei is placing stones at a radius of 15m around the foundation to mark the cable and turbine installation positions.

Walney II is scheduled to begin installations in March 2011. It is expected to come online by the end of the year.

The turbines in Walney II will be placed 25m-30m deep, which will require longer and heavier monopiles weighing up to 800t.

Onshore cabling work is underway in Cleveleys near Blackpool.

Power generated by Walney II will be brought onshore in front of Thornton gate through a 132kV underwater cable. It will be connected to a new substation which is currently under construction along the route to Hill House Industrial Estate.

The cargo ship Annette owned by SAL was contracted to deliver the monopoles to the site.

Stemat 82, a cable installation vessel, is being used to install the array cables in the seabed. The cables are placed in the J-tube and protected with a layer of rocks to prevent scouring.

Walney Wind Farm contractors

Seabed Power was awarded the contract for transporting and installing more than 92km of 33kV array cables for Walney I. The cables were supplied by the nkt cables group.

"Dong Energy plans to extend the Walney offshore wind farm by a further 750MW."
Seabed Power was also responsible for laying 44km and 43km of 132kV export cables in two different routes. The cables were supplied by Prysmian Group in a €24.5m contract. Prysmian was also awarded a €18m contract to supply similar 132kV cables for Walney II.

The offshore substation steel structures and jackets were contracted to Bladt Industries in 2009. The first set for Walney I was delivered in May 2010 while the second set is underway construction.

The aluminium hydraulic cylinders were manufactured by Holmatro.

Powerstream Electrical Services built the onshore substation at Heysham in a contract worth $1.1m in June 2010.

Other major contractors to Walney I are EEW-Special Pipes Construction (SPC) Rostock for the manufacture of 51 monopiles, Visser & Smit Marine Contracting (VSMC) for the Stemat 82 cable lay vessel, Tekmar Solutions for a cable protection system, Proserv Offshore for cleaning of the marine growth around the pile and Ledsham for the construction of an 11kV substation for Siemens.

Walney II contractors include A2Sea and Ballast Nedam for installation of the foundations, Norway-based Draka Norsk Kabel (DNK) for installing the inter-array cables and associated logistics and Offshore Marine Management (OMM) for termination and testing of inter-array cables.

Dong Energy signed an agreement with Associated British Ports (ABP) to use 18 acres of the Barrow area for handling essential components of the wind turbines during construction.

Audit of the barge and tugs used in the project is being carried by Specialist Marine Consultants.

NIRAS was contracted for a number of consultation works related to the project, including geophysical surveys, management of installations, logistics planning and so on.

Future

Dong Energy plans to extend the Walney offshore wind farm by a further 750MW. The company signed a lease agreement with the Crown Estate in May 2010. The proposal is expected to be submitted for planning consent in 2013.

The extension is expected to cover an area of 145km². It will include one offshore substation, 33kV array cables, three core underwater offshore cables and an onshore connection point at either Heysham, Stanah or Penwortham substation.