OFFSHORE WIND TRIAL SHELVED UNTIL POLITICS SHIFT

Gamesa Shies Away From U.S. Offshore Wind Market, Shelves 5 MW Prototype

Laura DiMugno, 8 May 2012 (North American Windpower)

"Citing an immature market and a difficult regulatory and political environment, Gamesa and its collaboration partner Newport News Shipbuilding have suspended the development of Gamesa's G11X-5.0 MW offshore wind prototype - a decision that is highly reflective of the uncertainties and challenges currently plaguing the U.S. offshore wind energy market.

"In March, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission approved Gamesa's plans to deploy the 5 MW offshore wind prototype in the Chesapeake Bay - an installation the company planned to complete in 2013...[But] regulatory red tape, logistical barriers and policy uncertainty have stalled U.S. offshore wind development…[Gamesa] likely would be unable to find financing for U.S. offshore wind projects if the production tax credit for wind power is not extended beyond its year-end expiration."

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The failure to extend the PTC could stop this growth.

"Gamesa and Newport News Shipbuilding are now finishing up what they call a ‘critical design review’ (CDR) of the offshore prototype project, which has focused on improving turbine reliability, servicing requirements, civil engineering efficiencies in infrastructure development, and the cost of offshore wind energy…When the CDR is complete, Gamesa will also shut down its Offshore Wind Technology Center, which opened in February 2011 in Chesapeake, Va.

"Instead, Gamesa is turning to other markets with more favorable offshore wind environments, such as its native Spain. On the same day the company announced its decision to suspend the development of its G11X-5.0 MW prototype in the U.S., it said it was launching the permitting process for the installation of a 50 Hz 5 MW offshore prototype - the G128-5.0 MW - in Spain’s Canary Islands…[A]n offshore wid farm [should be] permitted for the site by late 2013 or early 2014…"