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New Wind Energy Projects (7 More Big Ones) by Zachary Shahan Clean Technica, December 22, 2011

Just finished my new solar energy project roundup of the week, so on to wind. . . . Here are the 7 big ones I've seen this week (other than what we've covered.. or are about to cover):

1. 21-MW Hawaii wind project to lean on 11-MW lithium ion battery bank. A123 Systems, an advanced lithium ion battery developer and manufacturer, announced today that it would be supplying "an 11MW Grid Battery System (GBS) to Sempra Generation for the Auwahi Wind project in Maui, Hawaii." Rendition of the project above.

2. Wisconsin's largest wind farm begins operation. "We Energies' Glacier Hills Wind Park, now the largest wind farm in Wisconsin, was placed into commercial service," on Tuesday, The Sacramento Bee reports. "Located in Columbia County, the 90 turbines have a demonstrated capacity of 162 megawatts and are capable of producing enough energy to power 45,000 homes. We Energies also operates the 88-turbine Blue Sky Green Field Wind Center in Fond du Lac County."

3. Northern Ireland plans to deploy over 800 MW(!) of wind power and tidal power offshore move forward. "Plans to deploy up to 800MW of offshore wind turbines and tidal stream devices in Northern Irish waters by 2020 have taken a step forward after the Crown Estate invited companies to bid for projects," Business Green reports. "The organisation responsible for the seabed launched a leasing round last week, following a design dicussion earlier this year to determine which areas of Northern Ireland's waters were most attractive for development, and how leasing rights should be awarded."

4. First Wind secures $210 million for 105-MW wind project. First Wind, a U.S. wind energy company, announced that it had received the money for subsidiary Palouse Wind, LLC, the owner of the 105-MW Palouse Wind project on Monday. The project is to be located in northern Whitman County, Washington. "With financing in place, First Wind will continue on schedule with construction of the largest renewable energy facility in the county with the capacity to generate enough clean energy to power about 30,000 Northwest homes, equal to the total energy load of all of Whitman County," the company announced.

   "After nearly four years of preparation and permitting, we are very pleased to see the Palouse Wind project moving forward, providing a source of clean, renewable energy for Northwest residents and businesses," said Paul Gaynor, CEO of First Wind.

5. Edison Mission Secures $252 million for 3 wind energy projects totaling 204 MW of capacity. "The wind projects in the portfolio include two sites operating in Oklahoma, the Taloga project, commissioned earlier this year with a gross generating capacity of 130 MW and the Buffalo Bear project, commissioned in 2008 with a gross generating capacity of 19 MW," Edison Mission reported yesterday. " The third site in the portfolio is the Pinnacle project nearing completion of construction in West Virginia, which will have a gross operating capacity of 55 MW when operational. The projects sell electricity generated to utilities and public agency customers under long-term power purchase agreements."

6. 30-MW community wind project moving forward. "EverPower Wind Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Terra Firma, a leading private equity firm, and OwnEnergy, the leader in Community Wind, announced [Tuesday] that they have closed a transaction where EverPower will acquire and construct Patton Wind Farm, LLC," OwnEnergy reported on Tuesday. "This is a project that OwnEnergy has been developing from inception with its local landowner partner."

   "The project will be 30 MW and will be fully operational by the end of 2012. . . . The Patton project is located in Elder, West Carroll, and East Carroll Townships across approximately 2,700 acres of agriculture land. According to EverPower, the project will provide approximately 100 jobs during construction, and up to 10 full-time jobs required to operate and maintain the project over the next thirty years.

   "As a Community Wind project, with local ownership of the farm, it enjoys unprecedented local support and will provide incremental economic development for the region. Many of the workers will be drawn from the local labor pool and non-local workers will require lodging, food and other necessities that will be also purchased locally, which will benefit local businesses."

7. 52 MW of wind turbines ordered for Spanish wind project. Vestas announced today that it had received a 52-MW wind turbine order for the El Gallo wind power project planned for Burgos, in the north of Spain. "The order consists of a turnkey project including civil and electrical works, supply, installation and commissioning of 26 units of the V90-2.0 MW turbine with a 105-metre hub height."