wiredinUSA November 2014

wiredInUSA - November 2014

INDEX

Global wind and solar company

Mainstream Renewable Power has

received consent from Scottish ministers

to build and operate its 450MW Neart

na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind farm in

the Outer Forth estuary in the North Sea.

Pre-construction activities are expected to

begin next year and the wind farm should

be generating electricity by 2018.

The wind farm will consist of up to 75

wind turbines, and occupy an area of

approximately 80 square kilometers. At its

closest point to land it lies over 15km off the

Fife coast, in water depths of 45m to 55m.

The subsea cable transmitting the

wind farm’s power will come ashore at

Thorntonloch Beach in East Lothian from

where its underground cable will travel

along a 12.5km route to a substation

located within the Crystal Rig onshore wind

farm in the Lammermuir Hills.

Mainstream Renewable Power’s founder

and chief executive, Eddie O’Connor,

said: “[The] announcement is of particular

importance for Scotland because it is the

first time a wind farm will be built in Scottish

waters with thepurposeof supplying Scottish

homes and businesses with renewable

energy. In fact, it will generate enough

green power to supply more than all the

homes in Edinburgh.”

Power for Scotland

EUROPE NEWS

Energinet.dk, the transmission system

operator in Denmark, and 50 Hertz, the

transmission system operator responsible for

the eastern part of Germany, have given

ABB an order worth around $16 million to

upgrade the 600MW Kontek high voltage

direct current (HVDC) transmission link.

The project scope includes installation of

ABB’s MACH control and protection system,

remote operator work stations, training and

spare parts. The link was originally delivered

by ABB in 1995 and the modernization will

enhance the operational reliability of the

link and reduce maintenance needs. The

upgraded link is scheduled to be in full

operation in 2016.

“This upgrade reinforces ABB’s focus and

commitment to supporting customers

throughout the lifecycleof theproducts and

systems it delivers,” said Hanspeter Faessler,

head of ABB’s grid systems business.

ABB has significant experience in upgrading

HVDC links around the world and is

working on many similar projects. The

Kontek contract is the 23

major HVDC

modernization project for ABB since 1990,

including 17 control system upgrades.

HVDC upgrade

Prysmian Group has been awarded a new

order by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding

Co Ltd (SWS) – a wholly owned subsidiary of

China CSSC Holding Ltd – to supply 320km of

NEK 606 offshore cables for the company’s

new2+2CJ46-X100-D jack-up (self-elevating)

drilling rigs.

The CJ46-X100-D jack-up drilling rig is mainly

used for exploration, drilling, and operation

of oil and gas with an estimated drilling

efficiency of up to 50 percent more than

other similar platforms.

The latest contract reconfirms the validity

of Prysmian’s technologies for applications

in the oil and gas industry, and the group’s

role in the strategic Chinese market.

It follows a recent award by Nantong

COSCO – a subsidiary of China Ocean

Shipping Company (COSCO) – to supply

600km of offshore power cables (MV and

LV) for 2+2 Ocean 500 semi-submersible

accommodation vessels.

Rig contract

Developers have announced that the

world’s first heart-shaped solar power plant

is to be built on a Pacific island. German

solar company Conergy is to build the

2MW photovoltaic plant on the largest

island of the French overseas territory of

New Caledonia, located in the southwest

Pacific Ocean around 1,200km east of

Australia.

Construction is scheduled to begin later

this year and the plant, named the Heart of

New Caledonia, is planned to come online

in the first quarter of 2015. The plant’s 7,888

solar panels are expected to generate

enough electricity to power 750 homes,

saving two million tonnes of CO

over its

25-year lifetime.

Located in the Voh region, the plant’s

design was inspired by the island’s Coeur

deVoh, anatural wildmangrove formation.

The design will be visible only from the air.

David McCallum, Conergy’s managing

director, said: “The Heart of NewCaledonia

will be a giant heart-shaped message to

the world – it’s time to start loving solar

energy. It will also, probably, be the world’s

first beautiful PV plant, and perhaps the first

beautiful power station of any description,

anywhere on the planet,” he added.

Power at the Heart