Brazil

EDP Renovaveis buys up Elebras
Portuguese renewable energy company EDP Renovaveis has taken over wind company Elebras Projectos of Brazil for an estimated €1.98mn. The Brazilian company has a portfolio with an installed capacity of 532 MW. Following this acquisition the wind power capacity of EDP Renovaveis in the Brazilian market will increase to 832MW.

More information: www.edprenovaveis.com

Chile

Mainstream Renewable Power confirms $1 billion wind investment
Mainstream Renewable Power has confirmed it will invest $1 billion (€736.53mn) in wind power projects in Chile up to 2014 through an alliance with local firm Andes Energy. A total of around 400 MW will be produced, although Mainstream Renewable Power is willing to increase this figure if possible. According to the company, Chile has the potential to develop around 44,000 MW in wind power. Mainstream are intending to build a new wind farm in the Valparaiso area with a capacity of 36.8 MW, which should be operational by 2010.

More information: www.mainstreamrp.com

Denmark

Dong calls for more state funding for offshore wind farms
Danish power company Dong Energy is calling for increased government funding for offshore wind power. According to the company, more offshore wind farms will be needed in Europe if wind power supply is to go up. As offshore wind farms are costlier than the onshore alternative, Dong says more subsidies are needed.
Similarly, the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) has warned the UK Government that plans for nine offshore wind farms will have to be abandoned if it does not provide energy firms with GBP 2bn (EUR 2.12bn USD 2.90bn) in emergency funding. The failure of the schemes would have a negative impact on the Government's pollution-reduction targets.

More information: www.dongenergy.com

France

Vestas launches new ‘low wind’ turbine design
Vestas has come up with a new 3 MW wind turbine designed to operate in low to medium wind speeds. The Danish manufacturer hopes the new wind turbine will attain a 30% market share in France, where low winds prevail. The machine will be marketed in May 2010. France had production capacity of only 3,404 MW at the end of 2008 but plans to produce 25,000MW by 2020.

More information: www.vestas.com

Sweden

TCC and Nordex to build major wind farm plans
TCC and Nordex Sverige have plans to build two wind farms with a total of over 100 wind turbines in the Swedish municipality of Åsele. The two wind farms will have respective capacities of 195 MW and 117MW. Building should start in 2011.

More information: www.nordex-online.com

Turkey

Vestas signs for 33 MW in Turkey
Vestas is to deliver, transport and install 11 wind turbines to a project in southern Turkey. The V90 turbine has a capacity of 3 MW, meaning Vestas will provide 33 MW in total, as well as providing maintenance for a five-year period. The project should be completed in early 2010.

The order was placed by the Turkish company Akdeniz Elektrik Üretim A.Ş, a subsidiary of the Agaoglu Group, which works in fields such as tourism and construction as well as energy. The wind farm will be located in the Mersin province of Turkey. It will produce about 95 Gigawatt hours of power per year.

More information: www.vestas.com

UK

Double green certificates for small wind turbines
Double green certificates called Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) became available across the UK in April 2009. This should lead to shorter return times on investmentin small wind turbines.

A ROC can be issued to those generating their own renewable energy through a small scale wind turbine or other renewable energy sources. For every MWh of eligible renewable energy generated, the owner will receive money from a licensed electricity utility company.

More information: www.berr.gov.uk

US

37 Million US jobs in renewables by 2030
There were more than nine million jobs in the renewable energy and energy efficiency (RE&EE) industries in 2007, worth US $1.04 trillion in revenue, according to a new report. The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) reveals in the document that the renewable energy industry grew three times faster than the U.S. economy in that year.

According to the advanced scenario in the report, RE&EE would generate about 37 million jobs and US $4.29 trillion in annual revenue by 2030. Under the business-as-usual scenario, over 16 million jobs would generate US $1.9 trillion in revenue by 2030. The profiles required are mainly college-educated professional workers and highly skilled technical workers.

Key to achieving the advanced case are putting in place a national renewable portfolio standard and effective net metering policies, extending the production tax credit, and improving access to electric transmission infrastructure.

More information: www.ases.org