THE WEEKLY WIND

Renewable Energy World

Most wind OEMs have realized that long-term strategic partnerships with specialist suppliers can offer many advantages over in-house production. To maintain profitability, OEMs must constantly refine turbine performance while cutting costs and increasing manufacturing flexibility. In order to achieve these goals, manufacturers are revamping their supply chains with techniques like lean production, component commonality, just-in-time stocking and strategic supplier outsourcing.

Star-Tribune

The Winhyne turbine’s motion creates hydraulic energy used to power hydraulic motors that compress and pressurize nitrogen gas. That gas is either stored or used to power a generator, depending on the existing demand for power.

Wind Power Offshore

The doubly-fed prototype has passed a full power test and low-voltage ride at the production plant.

To date, Sinovel and United Power have made 6MW turbines, with Goldwind also developing a 6MW direct-drive permanent magnetic design. Sinovel, XEMC and CSIC Haizhuang have made 5MW turbines. CSIC Haizhuang’s design is also being tested at Rudong.

Wind Power Weekly

Goldwind said the 6MW model, which upgrades a previous 5MW turbine development project, boasts a light nacelle and a relatively small size, which would cut maintenance costs and make the model competitive in the market.

United Press International

The tender calls for about 200 wind turbines off the French coast for a total installed capacity 1 gigawatt, joining a first tender released last year, which will result in the building of nearly 2 gigawatts of wind turbines.

China Electricity Council (in Chinese)

A China Electricity  Council report says that in 2012, wind power production grew more than coal power production in China.

Power Engineering International

China’s National Energy Administration has approved 28.7 GW to be installed over the next two years.

Bloomberg

Gamesa is expanding its servicing under a strategy that includes cutting 100 million euros ($131 million) of fixed costs and closing more than a third of its offices through 2015.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Wind’s hedge value is as important today as it has ever been, despite the current low gas price environment, wind power can still provide a useful hedge against rising natural gas prices, particularly over the long term.

Bloomberg

China Windpower Group Ltd., China Development Bank Corp. and China Asset Management Co., Ltd. will set up a joint venture to invest in solar projects at home and abroad. The Hong Kong-based company will own 45 percent while units of China Development Bank and China Asset Management will hold the remaining shares.