Renewable Energy Development

The Bay Front Power Plant in Ashland Wisconsin is about to undergo a $70 million overhaul courtesy of financing by Xcel Energy. The power plant has already been retrofitted so that two of its three boilers can burn multiple fuels for power. The proposal by Xcel is to convert the third coal-fired boiler to burn wood chips, producing biomass gasification.

After the upgrade the power plant would burn up to 450,000 tons of waste wood a year compared to the current 200,000 tons. The retrofit will allow the conversion of waste wood to synthetic gas, which is cleaner than coal. Greenhouse gas emissions would be cut dramatically as a result.

After the power plant has been upgraded it will have become the largest biomass-fuelled power plant in the Midwest and one of the largest in the nation.

Xcel will file for approval for the project with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin later this year. Construction is expected to start in 2010, pending project approval. Operation could begin in late 2012.

The largest commercial wind farm in the southern hemisphere is in the final stages of commercial assessment in Victoria, Australia. Named the Macarthur Wind Farm, it is a joint venture partnership between AGL and Meridian Energy, which is New Zealand’s largest generator of electricity using only renewable resources.

The Macathur Wind Farm has a proposed maximum generating capacity of 450MW of electricity and will be comprised of 150 wind turbines scattered over 5500 hectares between the townships of Macarthur, Hawkesdale and Penshurst in the Western Districts of Victoria.

The electricity generated from the facility will be enough to power around 150,000 homes per year and will introduce considerable infrastructure development to a rural region. The project will create 200 jobs during the construction phase and will create related job opportunities for the local community.

The actual turbines that will be used for the project are still yet to be decided upon as is the precise location of each turbine, which will be decided after an assessment is made on the impacts each one will have on the adjacent residents.

It is hoped that construction of the Macarthur Wind Farm will get underway during 2009 but there has been no indication given as to when the wind project will be completed and electricity will be added to the national grid.

A joint venture is being undertaken between Investec Bank (Australia) and Windlab Systems Pty Ltd to develop the Collgar Wind Farm in Western Australia. The wind project will be situated approximately 25km south east of the town of Merredin and will consist of up to 127 wind turbines with an expected maximum capacity of 267MW of power.

The cost of the projected is expected to be in the region of $600 million and a planning application has been lodged with the Merredin Shire Council with a decision expected during either September or October 2008. The site for the Collgar Wind Farm comprises of around 13,000 hectares of private freehold land and although a layout plan has been proposed it may be amended after the results of further technical studies have been made.

The power generated from the Collgar Wind Farm will provide enough electricity to power around 160,000 homes each year and will avoid carbon emissions the equivalent of removing 200,000 cars from the road each year.

The plan is that the power produced will be transmitted to a nearby substation where the electricity will connect directly to the national grid network.

The construction phase of the project is anticipated to take 18 months which gives an expected completion date of first half of 2010. The 200 jobs that will need to be filled to complete the construction will provide work for the duration of the project and many of these jobs are expected to be filled locally. When construction is complete the wind farm will require a team of 10 – 15 people to maintain it on an ongoing basis.

The first wave power plant has opened during the week off the coast of Portugal. With a maximum capacity of 2.25 MW of electricity and using the Pelamis Wave Energy Converter system (PWEC) the project heralds the advent of another source of renewable energy. It now remains to be seen whether the electricity that is produced is cost effective and consistent.

Designed by Pelamis Wave Power Limited, the converters sit off the coast of Agucadoura, around 3 miles out. They are said to be capable of providing power around the clock. There are three of the converters in the system and each converter is capable of producing 750kW.

Once the first phase of the project is confirmed work will get under way on the second phase which will involve expanding the plant with 25 more reactors. This will bring the maximum capacity up to 21 MW or enough energy to power 15,000 homes.

The project is a joint venture between a Babcock and Brown Ltd., a global specialist asset manager, Energias de Portugal (EDP), Portuguese energy group EFACEC, and Pelamis Wave Power Limited.

The cost of getting the first phase to the position that it is now has been $13.1M USD with much of that cost going into the undersea cables which link the generators to a substation on shore.

It has been estimated by the plant owners that once the second phase of the project is put into place, a saving of 60,000 tons of carbon dioxide will be made.

Ian Fells of the Newcastle University warns of one possible pitfall, saying “It’s extraordinarily difficult to design a machine that will cope with the extreme violence of waves. Some wave machines are under the surface all the time — but they are not as well developed as yet. Pelamis lies in the surface and it remains to be seen how successful it will be. It’s extraordinarily difficult to design a machine that will cope with the extreme violence of waves. Some wave machines are under the surface all the time — but they are not as well developed as yet. Pelamis lies in the surface and it remains to be seen how successful it will be.”

Work has started on the construction of the first biomass power plant in the state of Texas. The groundbreaking ceremony for the start of the project has just taken place hosted by Aspen Power in Lufkin, Texas.

The Lufkin Biomass Power Plant will have a maximum capacity to produce 50MW of renewable energy sourced electricity. The facility will be fuelled by 525,000 tons of logging and wood debris each year. It is reported that Lufkin and surrounding areas currently produces up to 600,000 tons of wood waste each year, so the facility will be helping to solve an existing waste problem.

The facility will provide enough power for the city of Lufkin and will provide 160 new jobs for the local community.

Early opposition for the Lufkin Biomass power plant came from members of the local community, but thanks to a public relations campaign by Aspen Power, the residents of Lufkin were reassured as to the benefit to the community and to the low environmental footprint such a biomass facility would leave.

It is expected that construction of the Lufkin Biomass Power Plant will be completed by October 2009.

Serbia will be getting its first wind farm courtesy of the Belo Blato Wind Farm which will be a 20MW wind farm developed by Green Star Alternative Energy, Inc. This wind farm will be the initial phase of a proposed 300MW wind project.

It is expected that the Belo Blato wind energy project will be completed by the second half of 2009 and when it is at full capacity will be capable of providing electricity to up to 6,000 homes. The company plans to also use the land upon which the wind turbines will be sited to grow and sell wheat in a bid to maximise the use of the ground.

The wind farm will be situated on 89 hectares of land that has been permitted for wind power and agriculture north of Belgrade. This region is host to some of the most constant winds in the country offering excellent potential for reliable electricity production.

J. M. De Castro, CFO of Green Star Alternative Energy, stated: “The Belo Blato wind project is progressing through the final stages prior to construction. A feasibility study has been completed and permits are in process. We expect construction to begin in early 2009 with the first turbine operating in the second quarter. This project marks a new era of clean energy generation for Serbia. Green Star Alternative Energy is proud to be a part of it.”