The order includes supply and commissioning of the wind turbines as well as a five-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement, Vestas’ full-scope service package maximizing uptime and energy production.

The turbines will be manufactured at Vestas’ Colorado factories and delivery will begin in the second quarter of 2019. With the vast majority of the major wind turbine components domestically sourced, wind turbine manufacturing is a significant driver of growth for American manufacturing. In 2017, Vestas spent more than 1.4 billion dollars across its U.S. based supply chain – with over 1,000 U.S. based companies – to support the production, transport, and operation of wind turbines.

MidAmerican Energy, the largest regulated utility owner of wind energy, places order for 356 MW of V110-2.0 MW turbines

“This project will harness low-cost wind energy for MidAmerican Energy’s customers, all while enhancing the reliability and resiliency of the grid. Vestas is proud to deliver its industry-leading technology to this project that will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic benefits, including landowner lease payments, tax payments, and long-term secure jobs”, said Chris Brown, President of Vestas’ sales and service division in the United States and Canada.

MidAmerican Energy is the largest regulated utility owner of wind energy in the U.S. When fully operational, the Wind XI project will ensure the utility generates approximately 90 percent of its retail energy load from wind.

The Wind XI project consists of multiple sites in Iowa that will be placed into service between 2017 and 2019. Potential future order intake under the agreement is expected to occur as partial deliveries under the master agreement and will be announced firm and unconditional consistent with Vestas’ order announcement policy.

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Timed perfectly for the world’s leading wind industry expo, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) celebrated the topping-out ceremony for its electrothermal energy storage facility (ETES) in Hamburg-Altenwerder. With this innovative storage system, Siemens Gamesa offers a solution for one of the core challenges of the energy transition: enhancing flexibility for both, the supply and demand sides of the renewable energy market. With a capacity of 30 megawatt hours (MWh), the system boasts maximum scalability and low investment costs. What is more, the company said it has received a contract to build eight new wind farms off Spain during the first two quarters of 2019. At the VDMA Morning Briefing, Andreas Nauen, CEO Offshore at Siemens Gamesa, also announced the introduction of several logistics and technology innovations enabling further cost reductions in the offshore wind segment.

A number of exhibitors have presented impressive product novelties at WindEnergy Hamburg this week.  

Right on the first day of the trade fair, MHI Vestas presented plans to build a 10 MW version of its V164 offshore wind turbine. The unit is expected to be ready for deployment at sea from 2021. It will also be suitable for installation as a ‘floating wind turbine’. This means MHI Vestas will be the first manufacturer to market a commercial wind turbine in the 10 megawatt class. The V164 will feature a Beefier gearbox, some minor mechanical upgrades, and an improved air flow design.

GE Renewable Energy introduced a new 5.3 MW onshore wind turbine model with a two-piece blade design as part of a new platform with improved logistics and site functions just in time for WindEnergy Hamburg. The 5.3-158 is the latest addition to the Cypress platform, which builds on GE’s 2 MW and 3 MW fleets and utilizes the 4.8-158 turbine architecture. According to GE, it offers up to a 50% increase in annual energy production (AEP) compared to the 3 MW platform and enables “significant” AEP improvements, higher service efficiency and better transport and site potential. A prototype of the 5.3-158 machine is currently being manufactured in Salzbergen and is scheduled to go into operation by the end of 2018.

Envision presented a novelty called EnScope, a software tool for smart site analyzes based on open data: The product is capable of evaluating information from Copernicus, Open Street Map as well as national data sources. It can be used to select sites for wind farms or for infrastructure planning across countries and larger regions. For example, by entering restrictions for a specific site, such as noise limits, minimum distance from neighboring installations or buildings, “Natura 2000” areas and slope of the terrain, the tool reveals how land-based wind turbines installed across Europe could meet the energy needs of the entire world.

The new ZF Wind Power modular platform design is named SHIFT 6k and was presented by a birthday party. It helps businesses to realize cost-effective turbines. Thanks to the modularity of the sys, the initial development costs are lower in comparison to a dedicated gearbox design. As stated by ZF, the shift 6K delivers a higher performance, more flexibility, and more availability. SHIFT 6k’ is suitable for powering new generation turbines from 4.5MW up to 7MW and rotor diameters of up to 180 meters.

Another industry novelty was introduced by Miros Group, a provider of ocean surface measurement data. The company supplies dry sea state measurements as a cloud-based service. Customers can obtain flexible access to real-time sea state information without having to invest in data capturing and transmission infrastructure themselves. “The availability of sea state information through the cloud was a big accomplishment, but we believe that providing this information as a pure service will be just as important for our clients,” said Andreas Brekke, CEO of Miros Group. A number of other exhibitors likewise presented impressive product novelties at the fair.

Apart from announcements of innovative technology and product novelties, a number of business deals have been sealed at WindEnergy Hamburg. For example, the Finnish companyPemamek announced a major contract from the Portuguese renewable energy specialist ASM Industries (ASMI) for the delivery of manufacturing lines for heavy offshore-type pipe structures. This investment will enable ASMI to execute its plan to build a new industrial production unit for offshore structures at the port of Aveiro. The new production facility is worth approximately $34 million.

Vattenfall and Nordex Group signed a supply agreement for an expansion of the “Wieringermeer” wind farm. The expansion will comprise 32 units of the N117/3600 model. Just one year ago, the energy company had ordered 50 wind turbines of the same series for this project. Construction preparations are underway. The expansion contract not only includes the supply and installation of the wind turbines but also a turbine maintenance agreement with a minimum two-year term. “We are now in the process of building nearly 300 MW for Vattenfall. The new contract sends an important signal, highlighting a mutual trust between our teams that has grown substantially over the past months,” said Patxi Landa, Chief Sales Officer at Nordex SE.

The Norwegian utility company Statkraft announced plans to invest Nkr 10 billion ($12 billion) annually from 2019 until 2025 in the expansion of its renewable energies portfolio. The company plans to install six gigawatts of wind power and two gigawatts of photovoltaics. 26per cent of this investment sum will go to Norway, with an annual Nkr 1.2 billion earmarked for upgrading the country’s hydroelectric power plants. According to the company, the largest portion of its investment, 42 percent of the total amount, will remain in Europe; the remainder will go to other markets such as India and South America.

Io360, a Scottish start-up, has developed a leading-edge 360-degree display called Io which generates video objects and 3D models that appear to be floating in space. The display exceeds the capabilities of virtual reality headsets such as Oculus Rift, Magic Leap’s specialized goggles or even the augmented-reality handheld system by Apple. People can enjoy it together and discuss the content, walking around the displayed object and interacting with it from any angle. At WindEnergy Hamburg, Io360 is presenting applications created for some of the globally-leading Scottish shipping companies, including 360-degree, 3-D animations capable of simulating dynamic underwater currents.

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The Global Wind Summit kicks off today in Hamburg. The expo covers the whole value chain of wind energy and provides a special focus for expertise in its section on storage technologies.

“Wind has a critical role to play in the world’s energy mix. It already accounts for almost 5% of electricity generation today, but its potential is much greater. With ongoing cost declines and the right government policies, it could become a leading source of generation globally in the coming decades,” explained Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency at the Global Wind Summit on Tuesday.

Throughout the course of this week, the world´s largest wind industry event will highlight of one of the world’s most innovation-driven sectors. The wind industry is now a dynamic global force – creating jobs, transforming local economies and decarbonizing the world’s energy mix. The Global Wind Summit will build on the pioneering achievements of the industry and set the agenda for the further evolution of wind energy and the contribution it makes to society.

“About 35,000 industry visitors from 100 countries are expected to attend the Global Wind Summit,” explained Bernd Aufderheide, President and CEO of Hamburg Messe und Congress. “The whole industry onshore and offshore is represented at WindEnergy Hamburg by more than 1400 exhibitors hailing from 40 different countries. There are no less than 16 wind turbine manufacturers; for the first time, Mingyang from China and Suzlon from India. The international portion of companies has grown from 44% in 2016 to 50% today. There will be a number of new countries this year, including South Africa, Australia, Iceland, Latvia, and Lithuania.” Running alongside the world’s leading expo is the WindEurope 2018 conference.

“Wind energy is reshaping the global energy mix and finding new ways of bringing clean energy to citizens, industry and wider society. The conference will look at how wind is breaking new ground. About how we’re harnessing the power of digitalization, finding new ways of financing wind farms, exploring new technologies such as floating offshore wind and how wind can help electrify Europe’s energy system. We’ve got over 500 speakers lined up, including top figures from government, industry, finance, and academia,” explainedWindEurope CEO Giles Dickson.

Speaking about the event, Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, Chief Executive Officer, E.ON Climate & Renewables said: “The global trend for digitalization is increasingly shaping many parts of the economy. It’s also set to transform how the wind industry works and is crucial for a successful system integration of wind power. Digitalization will help to smooth out power demand through storage and demand side management. It is becoming a cost reduction enabler and will help our industry to further mature”.

Hans-Dieter Kettwig, Managing Director, Enercon said: “Wind energy is breaking new ground in terms of going beyond simply providing clean and affordable electricity. Decarbonizing the world’s energy mix means fully exploiting the potential of renewables by getting much more wind into electricity but also the transport and building sectors. The Global Wind Summit is where we can set the agenda for electrification to plan for a cleaner, greener world”.

Philippe Kavafyan, Chief Executive Officer, MHI Vestas said: “The wind industry has made enormous progress in recent years to become an affordable, large-scale clean energy source. When you combine technological innovation with valuable gains in experience, plus a scale-up in volume, you get the historic price reductions we are seeing today. These drivers will be increasingly important as wind energy moves toward a merchant environment.”

Dr. Markus Tacke, Chairman VDMA Power Systems and CEO Siemens Gamesa: “The Global Wind Summit is a showcase for our industry, which has made wind energy a strong pillar of power supply in Germany and Europe. Hamburg will send out the signal that we can achieve much more with the 140,000 innovative employees in Germany and their colleagues throughout Europe. With the so-called “German Energy Transition Laboratory” we want to show that wind energy is much more than just electricity for the socket. In the future, it will not only be used to power cars but also to produce steel and to heat a big number of houses. In order to successfully complete the transition, society and authorities need to embrace climate and commercial.”

Hermann Albers, President, Bundesverband WindEnergie, said: “For the German wind industry, digitalization and sector coupling are no empty phrases. Our companies are already experimenting with power-to-gas applications, successfully installing quick chargers to electrify the mobility sector or using digital solutions within service and maintenance processes. The German wind industry is ready and willing to take over more responsibility for the overall energy system.”

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