This wind newsletter was originally published on May 25, 2018.

Member Highlight: Siemens Gamesa Pursues Hybrid Advanced Energy Projects

Michigan EIBC member company Siemens Gamesa, a wind turbine manufacturer, announced plans to pursue hybrid advanced energy projects. Potential hybrid projects include wind-plus-storage and solar-plus-storage, as well as combining wind and solar in certain projects.

Pairing renewable energy technologies like wind turbines with energy storage systems can utilize low-cost energy when demand is high. The goal, Chief Technology Officer Antonio de la Torre Quiralte said in an interview with Greentech Media, is to reduce renewable energy intermittency.

Last year, Siemens Gamesa won a bid for a hybrid wind-plus-solar project in India – when completed, it will be the first project of its kind for the company.

The company is looking beyond that process to gigawatt-hour levels of storage, and is considering a thermal storage system dubbed the Future Energy Solution, which is expected to have much higher capacities than modern-day batteries. With this technology, the company expects to be able to offer round-the-clock renewable energy generation.

The announcement comes about a year after Michigan EIBC member company Siemens Energy merged with Gamesa to become the largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world.

 

Wind Newsclips

In Michigan

• Clean energy advocate Peter Sinclair says in a guest column in the Morning Sun that Isabella county can be a leader on wind energy development.
• Great Lakes Bay Region SOS, a Bay and Midland County group that has been actively opposing a local wind project, has been accused of misleading the public with inaccurate flyers.
• Shiawassee County is moving closer to adopting an ordinance that would allow wind turbines.
• Last week, Matteson Township held a special meeting on DTE Energy’s proposed wind park.
• Michigan EIBC member company Invenergy has secured funding for its 3-MW Pine River Wind Energy Center, to be constructed in Gratiot and Isabella counties.
• Baraga County backs a proposed wind farm.
• Awind turbine ordinance has been adopted In Bay County’s Beaver Township that DTE says will make its proposed wind farm project ‘impossible.’
• Harris Energy Group, a western Upper Peninsula company is looking to branch out from hydroelectric projects to develop wind energy.
• Huron County saw a nearly 16% increase in personal property value due to wind development.
• Ingersoll Township trustees extended a wind moratorium by 6 months.
• Michigan EIBC member company RES is proposing the Summit Lake Wind Project in L’Anse Township.
• In a letter to the editor in the Midland Daily News, a resident challenges anti-wind advocate Kevon Martis for using dark money and outsider opinions to influence local wind decisions.

From Washington

• The Trump administration’s support of offshore wind suggests it recognizes the economic opportunities of renewable energy despite its stance on environmental issues.
• The Trump administration wants to remove an Obama-era plan that protects part of the California desert from solar and wind development.
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has extended a public comment period for a planned wind project in eastern South Dakota.

Across the Country

• The Washington Posthas mapped every one of the country’s 57,636 wind turbines.
• The Global Wind Energy Council released its “Global Wind Report – Annual Market Update 2017.”
• Michigan EIBC member company Invenergy is wrapping up development of a wind farm in the Quad Cities.
• The Arkansas Public Service Commission approved a $4.5 billion project that includes a 2,000 MW wind farm and 350-mile transmission line.
• The Ohio Power Siting Board will hold a second public hearing in July on a proposed six-turbine offshore wind project in Lake Erie.
• Michigan EIBC member company NextEra Energy Resources secured financing for more than 200 MW of wind projects planned for Nebraska and Indiana.
• A Illinois county is debating zoning regulations for wind projects before potentially lifting a moratorium that’s been in place for months.
• Researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas developed a way to get more power from wind turbines.
• Three Ohio students received $5000 in college scholarships tied to wind turbine development.

 

Events to Watch:

You’re invited to present, advertise, exhibit, or sponsor at The Energy Fair, June 15-17 in Custer, Wisconsin. Learn more and register here.