"On Friday 10 May 2013 his Majesty King Mohammed VI attended the launch of construction of the Noor 1 Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Independent Power Project. The 160 MWe Noor 1 CSP project is a greenfield IPP to be developed as the first project for the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) in a series of several planned developments at Noor 1 Solar Complex. The Noor 1 complex is set to develop into a 500 MW solar park incorporating several utility-scale solar power plants using various solar technologies.
Noor 1 160MWe CSP IPP plant with 3 hours of thermal storage is today the world’s largest parabolic trough CSP power plant and the first utility size thermal solar generation project in Morocco. The project is located in Souss-Massa-Draa, province of Ouarzazate in Morocco, approximately 200 km south of Marrakesh. The 160 MW Noor 1 CSP IPP will be developed on a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis by ACWA Power Ouarzazate which has recently awarded an EPC contract to a consortium composed of spain’s TSK Electrónica y Electicidad, Acciona Infrastructuras, Acciona Ingeniería, and Sener Ingeniería y Sistemas. The EPC consortium will procure part of the scope locally in Morocco. The Operation and Maintenance will be undertaken by a consortium led by NOMAC, a subsidiary of ACWA Power and it is estimated that the commercial operation will begin in the second half of 2015. Masen will be the offtaker of the energy produced according to the 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
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"Emergency off the British Coast of Kent. Two ships collide and one crashes into one of Siemens' wind turbines of the offshore wind farm London Array. Five hundred people from forty organizations rehearse the emergency in connection with a wind turbine. For Siemens and its ambition of a "Zero Harm Culture" this training exercise is a welcome opportunity to put its health and safety skills to the test. See for yourself what it means to be prepared at all times."
"ABB, the global power and automation technology group, has led a $12 million investment in Scotrenewables Tidal Power, a provider of tidal turbine systems, to support the rollout of a new hydrokinetic device and to expand ABB’s renewable energy assets.
ABB’s participation was made through its venture capital unit, ABB Technology Ventures (ATV), which invests in early and growth stage companies with technologies of strategic importance to the industries it serves. The investment round included participation from existing strategic investors Total New Energies, a unit of oil major Total, and Fred. Olsen, the Norwegian maritime conglomerate, through its associated Bonheur and Ganger Rolf holding companies.
The funding is being used specifically to roll out a larger and more advanced tidal energy conversion system known as the SR2000. The floating 2 megawatt turbine includes a number of innovations to deliver simplicity, low mass, rapid connection/disconnection and heightened survivability. Scheduled for completion next year, it will be the first of a number of commercial units installed in the Lashy Sound tidal demonstrator project in Orkney, where Scotrenewables is based.
“ABB led a comprehensive review of tidal stream technology and concluded that Scotrenewables was well below its peers in capital outlay per megawatt and overall power delivery cost,” said Grant Allen, senior VP of ATV. “Scotrenewables has designed a remarkably robust hydrokinetic unit which, by nature of its easily accessible floating design bypasses many of the maintenance issues that confront other marine startups.”
Aligning with Scotrenewables is a natural, strategic fit for ABB given the switchgear, transformers, cabling and other electrical gear being used in the containerized design. Through its UK operations, ABB engineers have already been working closely with the company on packaging and integration. The ATV investment complements current competencies in marine energy harvesting through ABB’s prior early-stage investment in Aquamarine, a leader in near-shore wave power development.
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" Scotrenewables Tidal Power Limited is pleased to announce that it has agreed terms in respect of a major financing package totalling £8.84m which includes £1.24m in public funding from the Scottish Government as well as £7.6m in private investment from a trio of multi-national backers. The deal will see both of SRTP's long-standing investors, shipping and renewable energy specialists Fred. Olsen and oil major TOTAL, participating in this round along with a new investor partner in ABB Technology Ventures. ABB-TV is the venture capital arm of the Swiss power and automation multinational and its decision to invest will allow SRTP access to ABB expertise in key technical areas which complement the offerings of SRTP's existing investors.
Under the terms of the £7.6m investment deal ABB-TV will contribute £5m while the remaining £2.6m will come from SRTP's existing investors. These funds will be injected in two equal tranches the second of which will be linked to the ongoing technical progression of SRTP's proprietary technology. The £1.24m in funding awarded to SRTP in August 2012 under the Scottish Government WATERS 2 scheme was critical in leveraging the agreed terms for this substantial amount of foreign private investment.
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MIT Technology Reviewの記事によると、GEは蓄電池付き最新型2.5MW風力発電機を開発し、すでに実際に運用が開始されているとのことです。再生可能エネルギーの”発電のきまぐれさ”は、既存の送電線の秩序に対して害悪であるとの見解は、特に日本では古くから信じられている話です。しかし、風力発電や太陽光発電の容量が増大しても、適切に手当てすることで、発電容量の数割（3割り強）までは、蓄電池などのバックアップは必ずしも必要ではない、という見解も再エネ比率が日本よりも高いドイツやアメリカではあります。
"・Invenergy to Feature Three Brilliant 2.5-120 Turbines as Part of an 86 GE Turbine Installation at New Texas Wind Project Site
・New Brilliant Wind Turbine Is First to Integrate Battery Applications into the Turbine System
・Three Powerful Software Applications Work with the Battery to Enable Short-Term Predictable Power and to Enhance Revenue Potential for Customers
GE (NYSE: GE) and Invenergy announced today the purchase of the first 2.5-120 brilliant wind turbines in the world. Invenergy has ordered three units as part of an 86-turbine deal with GE for its Mills County, Texas, wind farm. The 2.5-120, announced in January, harnesses the power of the Industrial Internet to analyze tens of thousands of data points every second. This helps manage wind variability and provides reliable, short-term predictable power, while communicating seamlessly with neighboring turbines, service technicians and operators.
New Configuration Enables Operators to Capture the Wind for Short-Term Energy Storage
The 2.5-120 is the first wind turbine to incorporate short-term battery storage as part of the complete turbine package. Integrating the battery into the wind turbine allows wind farm operators to reap the benefits of energy storage without the high costs of farm-level battery storage installation. This revolutionary design integrates GE’s advanced Durathon Battery technology with three software applications (apps). The resulting intelligent system enables power producers and the wind turbines themselves to make data-informed decisions and provide short-term predictable power.
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Key Findings
The integration of 35% wind and solar energy into the electric power system will not require extensive infrastructure if changes are made to operational practices.
Wind and solar energy displace fossil fuels. A 35% penetration of solar and wind power would reduce fuel costs by 40% and carbon emissions by 25%–45%—the rough equivalent of taking 22–36 million cars off the road—compared to today's system.
Increasing the size of the geographic area over which the wind and solar resources are drawn substantially reduces variability.
Scheduling generation and interchanges subhourly reduces the need for fast reserves.
Using wind and solar forecasts in utility operations reduces operating costs by up to 14%.
Existing transmission capacity can be better used. This will reduce new transmission needs.
Demand response programs can provide flexibility that enables the electric power system to more easily integrate wind and solar—and may be cheaper than alternatives.
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-----image(”「Lockheed Martin and Beijing-based Reignwood Group signed a historic agreement on April 13 for the development of the world's largest offshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) pilot power plant. The 10-megawatt facility will supply 100 percent of the power needed for a green resort being built off the coast of southern China. The agreement could lead to the development of several additional OTEC power plants, ranging in size from 10 to 100 megawatts with a potential multibillion-dollar value. As part of his first official state visit to China, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, pictured above in the middle, and U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, right, met with both companies following the signing ceremony in Beijing. Also pictured from Lockheed Martin are: OTEC Business Development Lead Scott Lustig, left; Vice President of Business Strategy Barry McCullough, second from left; Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Ray O Johnson, fourth from right; and New Ventures Vice President Dan Heller, third from right. Pictured from Reignwood Group are CEO Dr. Chanchai Ruayrungruang, fourth from left, and Senior Vice President Colin Liu, second from right. (PRNewsFoto/Lockheed Martin)」”) : 同リリースより（下-同イメージから部分。拡大）-----
"Prototype Plant to be First Project in the Multi-Billion Dollar Clean Energy Agreement
Lockheed Martin has announced that it is working with Reignwood Group to develop an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) pilot power plant off the coast of southern China. A memorandum of agreement between the two companies was signed in Beijing on Saturday. Following the ceremony, both companies met with United States Secretary of State John Kerry during his first official state visit to the People's Republic of China.
The 10-megawatt offshore plant, to be designed by Lockheed Martin, will be the largest OTEC project developed to date, supplying 100 percent of the power needed for a green resort to be built by Reignwood Group. In addition, the agreement could lay the foundation for the development of several additional OTEC power plants ranging in size from 10 to 100 megawatts, for a potential multi-billion dollar value.
"The benefits to generating power with OTEC are immense, and Lockheed Martin has been leading the way in advancing this technology for decades," said Dan Heller , vice president of new ventures for Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training. "Constructing a sea-based, multi-megawatt pilot OTEC power plant for Reignwood Group is the final step in making it an economic option to meet growing needs for clean, reliable energy."
OTEC takes the natural temperature difference found in the ocean in tropical regions and uses it to create power. This technology is well-suited to island and coastal communities where energy transportation costs typically make other sources of power very expensive. The process provides a native power source to areas, and, like other renewable energy technologies, OTEC plants will be clean, sustainable and powered by free fuel.
Unlike other renewable energy technologies, this power is also base load, meaning it can be produced consistently 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A commercial-scale OTEC plant will have the capability to power a small city. The energy can also be used for the cultivation of other crucial resources such as clean drinking water and hydrogen for applications such as electric vehicles.
In addition to several other green energy-related projects across a variety of industries, Reignwood Group is currently developing two large scale low-carbon resort communities, with others planned in key locations in China. Using Lockheed Martin's OTEC technology to power a new resort will help the company to develop its first net-zero community.
"Our mission at Reignwood Group is to invest in low-carbon applications and solutions, integrating these new green technologies into a plan to promote sustainable development practices," said Colin Liu , senior vice president of Reignwood Group. "Lockheed Martin's OTEC technology offers a ground-breaking solution that will help us to achieve this mission."
Once the proposed plant is developed and operational, the two companies plan to use the knowledge gained to improve the design of the additional commercial-scale plants, to be built over the next 10 years. Each 100-megawatt OTEC facility could produce the same amount of energy in a year as 1.3 million barrels of oil, decrease carbon emissions by half a million tons and provide a domestic energy source that is sustainable, reliable and secure. With oil trading near $100 a barrel, the fuel-savings from one plant could top $130 million per year.
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