News for December 2009

News Archive

Vestas delivers 140 MW of wind turbines to Bulgaria and Romania

Vestas will deliver 50 of its V100 1.8 MW and 25 of its V90 2.0 MW wind turbines to Bulgaria and Romania.

SSE acquires quarter of Walney offshore wind farm

Scottish and Southern Energy Plc (SSE) will acquire a 25.1% stake in the 367 MW Walney offshore wind farm west of the Isle of Walney in the Irish Sea, from DONG Energy, which will retain a 74.9% stake.

Synergy Composites invests in autoclave Synergy Composites invests in autoclave

UK company Synergy Composites has invested in a new autoclave which will be used to manufacture advanced composite components.

Angstrom awarded funding from NIST

Angstron Materials Inc, a producer of nano graphene platelets (NGPs), has been awarded US$1.494 million from the US Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop processes for mass-producing chemically modified NGPs for applications in the aerospace, energy, defence, automotive and telecommunications markets.

Siemens to supply further offshore wind turbines to DONG Energy

Siemens and DONG Energy have expanded their record offshore wind turbine supply agreement from March as Siemens is to provide 75 of its 3.6 MW offshore wind turbine for DONG Energy’s 270 MW Lincs offshore wind farm in the North Sea.

Power Composites to supply 200 MW of wind turbine blades to PowerWind

Power Composites will manufacture and deliver wind turbine blades for more than 200 MW for PowerWind’s wind turbine installations in its European market until 2012.

DONG Energy acquires Borkum Riffgrund 1 & 2 offshore wind turbine projects

DONG Energy is acquiring PNE Wind AG's 50% ownership interest in each of the two German offshore wind turbine projects Borkum Riffgrund 1 & 2.

Nordex USA to provide 8 N100 wind turbines for Wisconsin, USA

Nordex USA has received an order for 8 N100 wind turbines to be installed at a 20 MW wind farm in Glenmore, Wisconsin outside of Green Bay, USA.

Advanced Composites Group to supply US Formula One team

Advanced Composites Group Inc (ACG) has signed a long-term supply agreement with US F1 Team, the only US-based team to take the grid for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.

National Research Council Canada and Magna partner on automotive composites

A new partnership between automotive supplier Magna and the National Research Council Canada (NRC) will see the formation of a Composite Centre of Excellence, focusing on thermoplastic automotive parts.

Thermoplastic composite specified for BMW Z4 underbody shielding Thermoplastic composite specified for BMW Z4 underbody shielding

Underbody shielding manufactured by Takeo Automotive Systems and made of SymaLITE® from Quadrant Plastics Composites has been specified for the BMW Z4 car.

Brazil's composites market set for slight growth in 2010

The Brazilian Composite Materials Association (ABMACO) predicts 3% growth for the composites industry in Brazil in 2010.

Northrop Grumman composite joining technique passes NASA tests

A method for joining composite structures developed by Northrop Grumman for NASA's Composite Crew Module (CCM) demonstrator has passed a series of structural tests.

Celanese acquires FACT Future Advanced Composites Technology GmbH

Chemicals company Celanese Corporation has acquired FACT Future Advanced Composites Technology GmbH (FACT), Germany, a producer of long fibre reinforced thermoplastics (LFT). FACT will become part of Celanese's Ticona technical polymers business from 1 January.

Gurit confirms acquisition of Suzhou Red Maple

Gurit has confirmed the closing of the acquisition of Suzhou Red Maple Wind Blade Mould Co Ltd of China.

SEASON'S GREETINGS SEASON'S GREETINGS

The Reinforced Plastics team would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

LM Glasfiber in research project on wind turbine blade laser sensory system

LM Glasfiber, the independent manufacturer of wind turbine blades, is entering into a three-year research project supported by the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation to develop laser-based wind sensory systems as an integrated part of future wind turbine blades.

BWEA becomes RenewableUK

The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) is changing name to RenewableUK to reflect the increasing amount of renewable energy the organisation covers.

COP15: No clear signal to renewable energy markets and investors

Most people will be disappointed with the agreement reached between China, India, Brazil, South Africa and the United States at COP15 in Copenhagen last week, according to Steve Sawyer, Secretary General at the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

Last week's top 3 stories Last week's top 3 stories

The following stories were the most popular with visitors to the Reinforced Plastics website last week.

Offshore wind farm links shortlist worth over £1bn announced

UK’s Ofgem E-Serve has announced a short list of firms for the first 9 offshore wind farm links projects following the first tender to run transmission connections to offshore wind farms.

China advances up renewable energy league – Ernst & Young

China is now one of the top two most attractive locations in the world in which to invest in renewable energy projects, according to Ernst & Young's latest global renewable energy country attractiveness indices.

US Recovery Act will create 900,000 new jobs in renewable energies

New legislation in the United States will create 253,000 jobs in power generation from renewable energy systems, and could add 469,000 more jobs, according to a report.

SGL Rotec to supply blades for BARD offshore wind turbines SGL Rotec to supply blades for BARD offshore wind turbines

German wind turbine blade maker SGL Rotec GmbH & Co KG has announced a long-term agreement with BARD Emden Energy GmbH & Co KG for the delivery of blades for BARD's offshore wind farms.

REpower supplies 30.75 MW of wind turbines to E.ON

REpower UK, a wholly owned subsidiary of REpower Systems AG, will develop two wind farms totalling 30.75 MW in County Durham in the North East of England under a contract with E.ON Climate & Renewables.

LM Glasfiber to produce blades for Samsung wind turbine

LM Glasfiber will produce wind turbine blades for Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd’s new 2.5 MW wind turbine.

3B appoints agent in India

As part of plans to develop its business in Asia, glass fibre reinforcements manufacturer 3B, of Belgium, has appointed Essen International as its non-exclusive agent for India.

COP15: Global investment fund for Renewable Energy needed

The International Renewable Energy Alliance (REN Alliance) has called for renewable energy to be at the forefront of the post-2012 climate action regime in its COP15 policy statement.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner takes first flight Boeing 787 Dreamliner takes first flight

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner made its first flight yesterday at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, USA. Delivery of the first aircraft is scheduled for fourth quarter 2010.

COP15: Low-carbon and renewable energy will need investment of US$10.5tr by 2030

The world must invest in renewable energy and other low-carbon energy sources immediately, because every year of delay adds US$500 billion to the cost of protecting the global environment, says the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Wind turbines not harmful to human health, say experts

The sounds produced by wind turbines are not harmful to human health, concludes an expert panel in its report to the wind energy associations in the United States and Canada.

CDM executive board turns against renewable energy development

The CDM executive board rejected 10 proposed Chinese wind energy projects on the grounds of lack of consistency with the CDM additionality criterion at the beginning of December, causing the wind industry to react with disbelief.

Bioenergy could meet global energy demand

The global potential to produce biomass for energy in a sustainable way is sufficient to meet global energy demand, according to a paper by the World Bioenergy Association (WBA) based on a report by the Department of Energy and Technology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).

Siemens opens UK wind power research centre at the University of Sheffield

Siemens Energy says it will establish its UK wind turbine generator R&D competence centre at the University of Sheffield.

Maldives President: massive investment in renewable energy needed to save Maldives

President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives has called for massive investment in renewable energy and green technologies to address climate change – and to save countries like the Maldives.

Alcan Composites upgrades AIREX® T90 PET core material

Alcan Composites Core Materials is introducing an enhanced version of its AIREX® T90 polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foam core material which is designed for applications with high flame, smoke and toxicity (FST) requirements.

European funding group invests in renewable energy in Asia

A ‘fund of funds’ sponsored by the European Commission will invest €12.5 million into a renewable energy fund for Asia.

Support shifts for offshore wind farm off US east coast

A survey of residents along the northeastern US coast indicates that 57% of respondents now support a controversial offshore wind farm, up from 44% in the same survey in 2005.

Reliable carbon price and better regulation key for renewable energy investment

Governments need to establish regulatory and policy frameworks providing transparency, longevity and certainty to climate change and renewable energy investors, according to Kevin Parker, Global Head of Deutsche Bank’s Asset Management division.

Last week's top 3 stories

The following stories were the most popular with visitors to the Reinforced Plastics website last week.

Australian Composites partners with Vivian Regina to target composite market in Brazil

Australian Composites Pty Ltd has signed an exclusive supply agreement with Vivian Regina Brasil Ltda to distribute its UV curing prepregs into the transportation market in Brazil.

Europe gives €562m to offshore wind farms

The European Commission has granted €1.5 billion to offshore wind farms and carbon capture & storage (CCS) schemes that will relaunch Europe’s economy and reduce its GHG emissions.

Europe's largest wind farm will add more wind turbines

The Scottish Government has approved a second extension to a wind farm near Glasgow, boosting the capacity of the Whitelee Windfarm to 593 MW.

Investments in renewable energy seen as method to address climate change

A global survey of 24,071 adults around the world shows majority support for government investments in renewable energy to address climate change.

Saudi Arabia looks into renewable energy

Saudi Arabia is seriously looking into renewable energy, according to Lady Judge, the Chairman of the UK Atomic Energy Authority.

Narec builds offshore wind turbine blade test facility

The UK New and Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) will build a £15 million facility for testing offshore wind turbine blades of up to 100 m in length.

Fibermaq appoints Infiglass as distributor in Peru

Composites distributor Infiglass of Peru has been appointed a distributor for composites processing equipment manufacturer Fibermaq of Brazil.

Michigan firms win funds to support wind turbine blade manufacture

Three manufacturing firms in the US state of Michigan have been awarded American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funds to help them diversify into manufacturing of composite wind turbine blades and related components.

Waste-to-energy plant features composite chimney liners Waste-to-energy plant features composite chimney liners

A waste-to-energy incineration plant in Norway is employing fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) composite chimney liners manufactured by Tunetanken AS of Denmark.

METYX Composites invests in LIBA MAX 4 machine

METYX Composites has invested in a MAX 4 multiaxial reinforcement production line produced by LIBA and has also started production of carbon fabric.

Composites used in US carbon capture and sequestration system Composites used in US carbon capture and sequestration system

Corrosion-resistant composite components are being used in a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) unit recently installed by American Electric Power (AEP).

UK proposals include boost to the deployment of renewable energy

The British government has released its pre-budget report which provides substantial new funding to renewable energy and other low-carbon options.

GE to supply wind turbines to 845 MW wind farm in Oregon, USA GE to supply wind turbines to 845 MW wind farm in Oregon, USA

GE will supply wind turbines worth US$1.4 billion to Caithness Energy for the 845 MW Shepherds Flat wind farm in Oregon, USA.

UTC invests £126.5m in Clipper Windpower – intends 49.5% ownership

United Technologies Corporation (UTC) is investing £126.5 million into Clipper Windpower Plc and intends to reach ownership of 49.5% of Clipper.

ORNL receives funding for Carbon Fibre Technology Centre

Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has allocated US$34.7 million to establish a Carbon Fibre Technology Centre at its Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Owens Corning boosts technical fabrics capacity in Brazil

Owens Corning is doubling its capacity to manufacture glass fibre technical fabrics in Brazil to meet growing demand from the wind energy industry.

First composite lay-up manufactured for Airbus A350 XWB

The first composite lay-up for the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft – a panel for the centre wing box – has been manufactured in Nantes, France.

BMW M-series sports carbon fibre roof BMW M-series sports carbon fibre roof

BMW has selected Hexcel reinforcements for the inner structural layer of the carbon fibre roof of its M-series cars.

Stork Fokker wins contract for A350 XWB flaps

Stork Fokker AESP has signed a contract with Airbus for the development and manufacture of the composite outboard flaps for the A350 XWB family of aircraft.

German bridge combines composite and steel German bridge combines composite and steel

A low maintenace bridge installed in Reinbek, near Hamburg, combines steel beams with a glass reinforced plastic deck supplied by Fiberline Composites of Denmark.

REpower to deliver 143.5 MW of wind turbines for wind farm in California, USA

REpower Systems AG has signed a delivery agreement to provide enXco with 70 REpower MM92 2.05 MW wind turbines for a wind farm project in the West Coast market in mid-2011.

Toyota's Lexus LFA to use Toho Tenax carbon composites Toyota's Lexus LFA to use Toho Tenax carbon composites

Toho Tenax's carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) has been adopted for the cabin and other components of the Lexus LFA, a new supercar from Toyota.

More than 1000 towns and cities commit to use sustainable and renewable energy

The number of municipalities which has signed onto the ‘Covenant of Mayors’ for sustainable and renewable energy has surpassed 1000 since its creation in February.

COP15: International banks will support projects in renewable energy

Leading Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) have committed to “further support” investment in projects and programmes in renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable transportation systems at COP15.

Gurit to acquire Chinese manufacturer of wind turbine blade moulds

Swiss composite materials company Gurit has signed an agreement to acquire Suzhou Red Maple Wind Blade Mould Co Ltd of China, strengthening Gurit’s position in the wind energy market in Asia.

Suzlon validates wind turbine blades using Moog test system

The new Blade Test Center Gujarat (BTCG) of Indian wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon has successfully completed tests on a new wind turbine rotor blade using a Moog test system.

Westech Aerosol offers adhesive for vacuum infusion process Westech Aerosol offers adhesive for vacuum infusion process

Westech Aerosol, a speciality industrial adhesives manufacturer, has developed an adhesive specifically for the vacuum infusion process.

Siemens installs 3 MW direct drive wind turbine prototype Siemens installs 3 MW direct drive wind turbine prototype

Siemens Energy has installed a prototype of its SWT-3.0-101 DD direct drive 3 MW wind turbine close to the Danish town of Brande.

Renewable energy is critical to climate change mitigation, says IEA

The International Energy Agency (IEA) will present “key findings” on renewable energy during the climate conference in Copenhagen.

USA remains most attractive country for renewable energy

The United States remains the most attractive country overall for renewable energy, but China has moved ahead of Germany to take second spot in the rankings released by Ernst & Young.

Tidal power developer Pulse Tidal gets €8m EU grant Tidal power developer Pulse Tidal gets €8m EU grant

Pulse Tidal, a tidal power developer based in Sheffield, England, is receiving a €8 million grant from the EU’s technology research and development fund (Framework Programme 7) to enable Pulse Tidal to begin work immediately on developing its first fully commercial tidal energy generator.

UK signs up to European offshore wind grid

Nine countries including the UK signed up to develop an integrated offshore wind grid in the North and Irish Seas.

Gurit acquires High Modulus

Swiss composite materials supplier Gurit has acquired composite engineering and materials company High Modulus of New Zealand, creating a stronger presence in the boat building market.

Virgin Galactic rolls out spaceship Virgin Galactic rolls out spaceship

Virgina Galactic today unveiled its SpaceShipTwo commercial spaceship at the Mojave Spaceport in California.

Last week's top 3 stories

The following stories were the most popular with visitors to the Reinforced Plastics website last week.

Clipper provides 27 of its 2.5 MW wind turbines to Mexico

Clipper Windpower Inc is exporting 27 of its 2.5 MW wind turbines to Mexico, backed by a US$80.66 million direct loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank).

Europeans embrace recycling to fight climate change, but not renewable energy

Europeans consider climate change to be the second-most serious problem facing the world today, but paying for green / renewable energy or installing solar panels or wind turbines are the least popular method to address the challenge.

Siemens supplies 28 wind turbines to New Zealand

Siemens Energy will supply 28 of its SWT-2.3-101 wind turbines to Meridian Energy for the Te Uku wind power project near Hamilton, New Zealand.

RWE Innogy opens Rhyl Flats offshore wind farm in Wales

The Rhyl Flats offshore wind farm consists of 25 wind turbines with a total output of 90 MW, and is the biggest wind farm in Wales.

Nanocyl to expand capacity for carbon nanotubes

Nanocyl is installing a new reactor with a capacity of 400 tonnes/year for producing its NC 7000 carbon nanotubes.

Boeing completes 787 Dreamliner static test

Boeing has completed the static test necessary to validate the side-of-body modification made to its 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Zoltek reports fourth quarter results

Carbon fibre supplier Zoltek Companies Inc reports net sales of US$33.8 million for the quarter ended 30 September 2009, a decrease of 33% from the same quarter of fiscal 2008.

Clipper sells 70 MW of Liberty wind turbines and Maryland project to Constellation Energy

Clipper Windpower Plc and its subsidiary Clipper Windpower Development Corporation have sold 28 Liberty 2.5 MW wind turbines totalling 70 MW, and its Maryland-based Criterion development project to Constellation Holdings Inc, a subsidiary of Constellation Energy Inc.

KaZaK Composites and Raytheon IDS celebrate Zumwalt contract

KaZaK Composites Inc, a provider of composite engineering and design, has teamed up with Raytheon IDS and completed the design phase of the composite ballistic screen for the Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG 1000).

ACCIONA completes largest wind farm in Latin America ACCIONA completes largest wind farm in Latin America

ACCIONA Energy has completed construction of its largest wind farm in the world and the largest facility in Latin America.

IEA releases global roadmap for wind energy

The world will need to invest US$3.2 trillion if it is to generate 12% of electricity from wind power by 2050, and the International Energy Agency says there is “no fundamental barrier” to achieving that target or even exceeding it.

At COP15, 16 national associations say major hydrogen programs can reduce climate change

A coalition of 16 associations from around the world has issued a joint statement in Copenhagen, Denmark to underscore how hydrogen technologies can help to curb global greenhouse gas emissions.

November's top 5 stories November's top 5 stories

The following five stories were the most popular with visitors to the Reinforced Plastics website during the month of November:

Rio Tinto completes sale of Alcan Composites

Rio Tinto has completed the sale of Alcan Composites, part of the Alcan Engineered Products division, to Schweiter Technologies for US$349 million.

UK launches £5 million competition to develop innovative composite manufacturing processes

As part of the UK Composites Strategy launched last week, a competition is being launched that will see £5 million awarded to British business to develop innovative composite manufacturing techniques.

SGL’s carbon fibre approved for wind industry SGL’s carbon fibre approved for wind industry

SGL Group's 50k heavy tow carbon fibre has been approved by Ger­manischer Lloyd Wind Energy GmbH (GL Wind) for the wind energy industry.