Author: Anela Dokso

ACCIONA has started the process of energizing wind turbines at La Chalupa in Cameron County, Texas. When fully operational, the wind farm will be ACCIONA’s largest US asset at 198 MW, and will push the company’s US portfolio over 1,000 MW. La Chalupa is the company’s 10th wind farm in the US, taking ACCIONA’s total wind capacity in the US to 1,064MW. The project is equipped with 63 Nordex AWP 3150 wind turbines. Located in Cameron county, where the company already owns and operates the San Roman (93 MW, 2016) and Palmas Altas (145 MW, 2019) wind farms, La Chalupa…

Wärtsilä has secured the contract to convert the UTE Ponta Negra power plant, located in the Brazilian city of Manaus, to operate on natural gas instead of diesel fuel. The conversion will upgrade the plant’s performance, reduce its environmental impact, lower the operating costs, and ensure its availability and performance reliability. The contract with GERA Amazonas (Geradora de Energia do Amazonas), an independent energy producer controlled by FIP Vulcan, a fund managed by BTG Pactual’s Asset, was booked by Wärtsilä in September 2020. The plant currently operates on five Wärtsilä 46GD gas-diesel engines, which will be converted to Wärtsilä 50SG…

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has provided $21 million in funding for three projects supporting offshore wind energy technology demonstration and resource characterization. These projects will support offshore wind development by demonstrating innovative technologies not previously commercially used in the United States for offshore wind, and by improving the ability to forecast energy production. “Demonstrating innovative technologies not yet deployed at commercial scale will lower the cost of energy and lend confidence to future investment decisions. Improving the ability to accurately forecast wind power with enhanced weather models and demonstrating innovative energy production technologies can help reduce the cost of…

Equinor has awarded two key contracts worth NOK 1.3 billion in connection with the Northern Lights project. Kværner has received a letter of award for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the onshore plant facilities at Energiparken in Øygarden. The onshore plant will receive and store liquid CO2 before it is exported through a pump and pipeline system for injection offshore. The value of the contract is estimated at around NOK 1.05 billion. The start-up of the work is planned in January 2021, and completion is planned by Q1 2024. Kværner is a fully owned subsidiary of Aker…

GE Renewable Energy has secured a 265 MW onshore wind turbine order for ALLETE Clean Energy’s Caddo wind farm, located in Caddo County, Oklahoma. The wind farm will utilize GE’s 2.8-127 turbines. Construction on the project has began, with commissioning expected in 2021. The agreement also provides for a 15-year full-service agreement. “GE Renewable Energy is proud to continue our relationship with ALLETE Clean Energy by working together on the Caddo wind farm. Our 2 MW platform leverages proven, reliable technology and is ideally suited for this part of the country at a time when the world needs access to…

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will provide up to $45 million for research to advance solar hardware and systems integration, including the creation of a consortium dedicated to developing control technologies for a modernized electric grid. While solar makes up three percent of U.S. electricity, that amount is expected to reach 18 percent by 2050—requiring an increase of hundreds of gigawatts of solar capacity. As a result, DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is seeking new solutions that can reliably bring large quantities of solar onto the grid and that can ensure that American-made hardware is…

Viessmann and TenneT will jointly test how to utilize the potential flexibility of heat pumps for congestion management in the electricity grid. The aim is to combine heat pumps and electricity storage to form a virtual power plant. At the same time, the customers will be able to save significantly on electricity costs if they participate in the pilot project. Heat pumps are optimized via the communication channel developed by Viessmann. Customers already use this via their ViCare app to achieve maximum comfort and efficiency for their home energy system. The heat pump’s schedule is synchronized with TenneT’s requirements and,…

Daimler Truck, IVECO, OMV, Shell and the Volvo Group have committed to work together to help create the conditions for the mass-market roll-out of hydrogen trucks in Europe. As a growing number of governments and businesses align on a common vision of a net-zero emissions energy system, the H2Accelerate participants believe that hydrogen is an essential fuel for the complete decarboniszation of the truck sector. Achieving a large-scale roll-out of hydrogen fueled trucks is expected to create new industries: zero-carbon hydrogen production facilities, large-scale hydrogen distribution systems, a network of high-capacity refueling stations for liquid and gaseous hydrogen, and the…

Akselos SA (Akselos) has signed a three-year Enterprise Framework Agreement (EFA) with Shell for the use of its structural digital twin technology. The EFA will see Akselos become one of the global energy company’s verified suppliers for structural integrity assessments, forming part of Shell’s newly formed Digital Twin Platform that plans to integrate a number of digital twin solutions for various purposes. The global agreement will support Shell’s international teams with the design, operation and life extension of assets across oil and gas and wind portfolios. “Shell’s technology organization has been working closely with Akselos since 2015. I’m very pleased…

Vena Energy Australia has achieved financial close for Queensland’s biggest battery energy storage system (BESS), capable of discharging up to 100 megawatts (MW) and storing 150 megawatt hours of energy, equivalent to powering up to 57,000 Australian homes. Construction of the $120 million Wandoan South BESS started in October, after awarding the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to Doosan GridTech Australia. This follows the 15-year deal signed by Australian energy generator and retailer AGL for full operational dispatch rights for what will be Queensland’s biggest battery, and the second largest in Australia. “We are delighted to be delivering the…