Gamesa
Gamesa has agreed to supply $2 billion of wind turbines to Indian renewable-energy developer Caparo Energy Ltd. (CEL) in the nation’s largest order ever.
Spain’s biggest wind turbine manufacturer said it will deliver the 2,000MW of turbines by 2016 in a press release. Gamesa will supply its 850 kW G58 turbine to Caparo for the first 150 MW to be erected next year
Ramesh Kymal, managing director of Gamesa’s India unit, told a press conference in Mumbai. “We’ve received an upfront payment in line with normal commercial terms.”
In 18 months since entering India, Gamesa has become the third-biggest supplier after grabbing 10 percent of installations in the fiscal year ended March 31, according to the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association. Suzlon installed 41 percent of the 2,351 megawatts of new capacity followed by Enercon GmbH’s Indian unit with 21 percent.
Caparo Financing aims to develop as much as 5,000 MW of capacity in India by 2017. Chief Executive Ravi Kailas told reporters today that Caparo’s first 100 megawatts of capacity begin operating in June. It’s part of a $1.28 billion order for 1,000 MW of wind turbines placed with Suzlon in January.
Morgan Stanley (MS) is helping Caparo to raise mezzanine loans to fund 600 MW, the mezzine debt is a type of leveraged loan repaid after senior loans in a default.

NSW Solar Scheme Changes
ONE of Barry O’Farrell’s own MPs has accused him of causing ”deliberate and disproportionate harm” to participants in the solar bonus scheme, describing the state government’s decision to slash the rate paid to them as a ”betrayal”.
As the Premier faces a backbench revolt from MPs fielding angry calls on the issue, the upper house MP Catherine Cusack has written to Mr O’Farrell criticising him for breaking an election promise and claiming cabinet was briefed with material containing ‘’significant errors”.
The New South Wales Government announced that the state’s feed-in tariff, the Solar Bonus Scheme, has been closed to new applications effective 29 April. The solar industry has had a strong reaction to the announcement and over 1,000 people have protested it at a rally in Sydney on Wednesday 18 May.
According to the New South Wales Government, legislation will be introduced to Parliament as soon as possible to support the following changes:
- The Scheme will be closed to new applicants effective midnight 28 April 2011
- The 300 MW connected capacity limit will be abolished
- All applications received by businesses before 29 April 2011 will be assessed and if eligible will receive Solar Bonus Scheme tariff payments
- 20 cent tariff – Customers already receiving or who applied (but are not yet connected) for the 20 cent tariff rate before 29 April 2011 are not affected by the changes
- 60 cent tariff – Customers already receiving or who applied (but are not yet connected) for the 60 cent tariff will receive a 40 cent tariff rate from 1 July 2011 for the remainder of the Scheme.
According to the Government, the changes are the result of discussions following the Government’s Solar Bonus Scheme Summit Stage One. The scheme has been closed to new entrants since April 28 but about 40,000 already in the queue will be allowed in on a rate of 20¢ per kilowatt hour. Apparently under the current scheme, about 120,000 households which have installed solar roof panels receive 60 cents for every kilowatt hour of electricity fed back into the grid.
The government argues it is necessary because the scheme is underfunded by $749 million. It plans to introduce retrospective legislation to cut the feed-in tariff rate, arguing it will save taxpayers $470 million.
Suzlon
Iberdrola has found that falling blades from a Suzlon wind generator at the U.S. Rugby wind farm was a one-off accident unrelated to the turbine’s history of cracked blades.
Iberdrola suspended operations at the 150 MW wind farm, North Dakota after blades from a Suzlon S88 turbine fell from their mount, the company said on March 21. The same model suffered cracked blades starting in 2007, which had prompted a $100 million global retrofit program by India’s largest maker of windmills for power production.
The accident at Rugby was caused by the failure of a bolt connecting the rotor assembly to the nacelle, the report said. Stress may have been put on the bolt because of a misalignment of the connecting surfaces between the rotor hub and mainshaft flange, it said.
Carbon Price
Confidential research, commissioned by Resources Minister Martin Ferguson, shows coal will remain the cheapest energy option unless the price reaches $40 a tonne.
The federal government has rejected the $40-a-tonne figure while the chamber says such a price is simply not affordable.
Mr Evans said of the Australia Business Council said “The economy isn’t strong enough to deal with a carbon tax and it makes a lot of sense that we shouldn’t move ahead of the rest of the world on this issue.”
A carbon price of $40 a tonne would do nothing to reduce energy prices because it would not encourage gas-fired power stations.
Combet
Environmentalists have targeted Climate Change Minister Greg Combet before today’s multi-party climate change committee meeting in Canberra. A concerted strategic campaign saw the minister’s parliamentary office take a steady flow of calls asking the Federal Government to show more interest in renewable energy as part of its carbon pricing plan.
Calls for renewable energy have intensified as speculation rises that as little as 5per cent of the carbon dollar raised through the tax will be allocated to the sector.
Environment groups are alarmed that big polluting companies will get the lion’s share of compensation under the policy.
Mr Combet gave little away yesterday, saying only that details of the carbon price along with household and industry assistance would be released in July as previously promised.

Kojonup Wind Farm
The Wheatbelt town of Kojonup is set to become WA’s second biggest wind energy project.
A group of local Kojonup business people, through the company Moonies Hill Energy, wants permission to construct 74 wind turbines at a site called Flat Rocks, 30km south-east of Kojonup and 200km SSE of Bunbury. The project would cost around $500 million, have a generating capacity of 150MW.
Moonies Hill spokeswoman Sarah Rankin said that pending planning approval, construction was expected to start in 2013.
Epuron
A preliminary environmental assessment has been lodged by Epuron with New South Wales Planning for the Liverpool Range Wind Farm. Located between Cassilis and Coolah, covering an area 40kms east to west, by 50kms north to south. The proposed wind farm for the Liverpool Range in the Upper Hunter could have up to 550 turbines.
The Director-General of Planning has asked the company to also consider potential land use conflicts, including local gas and mining exploration leases, and whether a powerline should pass through a State Recreation Area to connect with the Wollar-Wellington transmission line.
A preliminary environmental assessment has been lodged by Epuron with New South Wales Planning for the Liverpool Range Wind Farm. Located between Cassilis and Coolah, covering an area 40kms east to west, by 50kms north to south. The proposed wind farm for the Liverpool Range in the Upper Hunter could have up to 550 turbines.
The Director-General of Planning has asked the company to also consider potential land use conflicts, including local gas and mining exploration leases, and whether a powerline should pass through a State Recreation Area to connect with the Wollar-Wellington transmission line.
