The US has launched an initiative to develop a set of standards for the offshore wind sector.
The three-year project is a collaboration between the Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Business Network for Offshore Wind and the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
An Offshore Wind Technical Advisory Panel comprising industry stakeholders has been formed and will guide the scope of activities for a group of new technical sub-working groups, which will develop the standards.
The proposed sub-groups cover the updating of the AWEA’s 2012 offshore compliance recommended practices, floating offshore turbines, geotechnical data requirements and met-ocean requirements for US waters.
The standards, which will be recognized by the American National Standards Institute, will allow BOEM to “adopt better requirements that reflect the latest industry best practices”.
NREL principal engineer and chairman of the Offshore Wind Standards working group Walt Musial said: “These standards and guidelines will form the basis for BOEM to establish transparent compliance requirements that will help industry in turn provide safe and reliable offshore wind facilities that serve the US electric supply.”
Vestas wins 168 MW order in Mexico
News release from Vestas Mediterranean
Madrid, 26 September 2019
Vestas has secured a 168 MW order for a wind park in Mexico. The order derives from a corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) and includes the supply and installation of 42 wind turbines of the 4 MW platform with V150 rotors. The order also includes an Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement for the operation and maintenance of the wind park over the next five years.
The 73-metre long blades of the Vestas 150m rotors will be locally manufactured in the TPI Composites factory in Matamoros, which provides Vestas with blades for the increasing number of V136 and V150 orders that the company is receiving in Mexico and Latin America. The turbine towers will also be produced by local suppliers.
“This order showcases how Vestas’ technology can meet the increasing demand of private Mexican companies for clean, reliable and competitive energy”, says Agustín Sánchez-Tembleque, General Manager of Vestas México.
Vestas pioneered the Mexican wind energy market when it installed the first commercial wind turbine in 1994. Since then, Vestas has accumulated over 2,3 GW of installed capacity or under construction in the country.
