Tag Archives: Ørsted

Ørsted completes onshore wind farm Haystack Wind in Nebraska

Ørsted News Release

Located in Wayne County, Nebraska, Haystack Wind utilizes existing interconnection infrastructure in Southwest Power Pool (SPP) North from Ørsted’s 230 MW onshore wind farm Plum Creek Wind, located nearby. Between the two projects, Ørsted has now invested over half a billion dollars in the state of Nebraska. 

Haystack Wind becomes Ørsted’s second operating project in Nebraska and its third operating project in the SPP market. The wind farm has a capacity of 298 MW and is contracted by power purchase agreements with Hormel Foods, Target, and PepsiCo. 

“I’m proud that the team has been able to issue commercial operation to all three Haystack offtakers on time despite industry-wide supply chain delays,” says Neil O’Donovan, CEO of Ørsted Onshore. “The SPP market is important to our Onshore business, and now we have a total capacity of 631 MW in operation across Willow Creek, Plum Creek, and Haystack. That’s enough to power almost 200,000 homes.” 

Ørsted’s onshore renewable platform has an ambition of reaching 17.5 GW globally in 2030 and currently has 3.4 GW installed capacity and 1.3 GW under construction in the US, Ireland, and the UK. 

About Ørsted 

The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs, and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, renewable hydrogen and green fuels facilities, and bioenergy plants. Moreover, Ørsted provides energy products to its customers. Ørsted is the only energy company in the world with a science-based net-zero emissions target as validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). 

Ørsted ranks as the world’s most sustainable energy company in Corporate Knights’ 2022 index of the Global 100 most sustainable corporations in the world and is recognized on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader on climate action. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 6,836 people.

Gage County finalizes tougher set of wind energy development regulations

By Doug Kennedy, News Channel Nebraska

BEATRICE – The Gage County Board Wednesday approved final amended regulations on wind energy companies that some officials say prevents any further wind development in the county.

Before the final vote, supervisors approved an additional amendment requiring an escrow account ahead of wind energy permit approval, to handle decommissioning and restoration, should a wind farm be no longer used. Continue reading here.

NPPD Photo: Steele Flats Wind Farm. Part of the wind farm is located in southwest Gage County.

The 75-megawatt Steele Flats Wind Energy Center near the Kansas border in Jefferson and Gage Counties was NextEra’s first Nebraska project. NPPD entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement with NextEra in early 2013, and the facility began commercial operation on November 1, 2013. Source: Nebraska Public Power District

See Also: Gage Wind Project: 124 Megawatts of Clean Energy in Gage County, Nebraska, NextEra Energy 

ADDITIONAL NEBRASKA / MIDWEST NEWS

 MORE KUDOS FOR AMERICA’S INFRASTRUCTURE DEAL

Review what’s in the bill or test your knowledge here: What’s in the infrastructure plan?, PBS 

Council hears rate study for proposed electric rate changes

By Monica Brich, Beatrice Daily Sun

Replenishing cash reserves impacted by the freezing temperatures and rolling blackouts in February was one of the topics the Beatrice City Council heard during its regular meeting Monday evening. The city hired J.K. Energy consultant John Krajewski to perform a rate study. He said the last time Beatrice had a full rate study was in 2009, with an abbreviated study done in 2014. Krajewski said the city has transitioned to a better portfolio of energy sources, as they’re planning to transition away from the Nebraska Public Power District after the next fiscal year. Continue reading here.

ØRSTED 

Ørsted completes largest onshore wind project to date, Globe Newswire


Ørsted has completed the 367 MW Western Trail Wind Farm located in Wilbarger and Baylor counties, Texas – its largest onshore wind project to date that brings Ørsted’s total onshore capacity to over 2.8 GW of wind, solar, and battery storage in operation.

In Nebraska: The 298MW Haystack Wind Farm, adjacent to Ørsted’s 230MW Plum Creek Wind Farm in Wayne County, is due to become operational by the end of 2021. Haystack will utilize existing interconnection infrastructure in Southwest Power Pool North.

All about the Southwest Power Pool, The Wire

IOWA PUBLIC RADIO INTERVIEW WITH ENERGY SECRETARY GRANHOLM

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm Talks Infrastructure, The Ames Lab, Biofuels And More, by Ben Kieffer, Rick Brewer, Caitlin Troutman

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in February 2021. She served as Michigan’s first female governor from 2003 to 2011. Recently, Granholm virtually toured the Ames Laboratory and met with the lab’s researchers to discuss sustainable energy and technology. She joined River to River on July 29 to discuss the visit as well as share her thoughts on the future of infrastructure, combating climate change and sustainable energy.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

DOD Official Says U.S. Faces Climate Change Crisis, by David Vergun

Climate change absolutely affects national security, said the senior climate advisor to the secretary of defense. Speaking yesterday to the Department of Energy’s Energy Exchange forum, Joe Bryan said:

Image: Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska amidst severe flooding in 2019, resulting in $400 million in infrastructure damage to the base. Credit: U.S. Air Force

SOLAR ENERGY INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION

Climate versus jobs? Not in this heartland state.

By Stephanie Hanes, Christian Science Monitor

For five generations, Andrew Bowman’s family has worked the land in Oneida, population 700-ish – a flat and fertile swath of Illinois his father always said was good for growing crops and kids. Today, he farms soybeans and corn, as well as specialty popcorn, which he sells under the label Pilot Knob Comforts. Mr. Bowman hopes to have a new resource to harvest soon, as well: wind.

This past year, Mr. Bowman took a lead representing local landowners in negotiating with Orion Renewable Energy Group, one of the many companies installing wind farms across Illinois, to build a new 100-turbine project in his part of Knox County. Clean energy would not only help keep the local school open and support the fire department and library, he says, but would also offer a new income stream to farmers who agree to lease some of their land for the project – some $30 million over 25 years, according to the proposal. Continue reading here.

Photo by Orion Renewable Energy Group

CLIMATE ACTION TOOLS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Local Governments Can Use Their Power to Combat Climate Change, Bloomberg Law


Cities are nimbler than Congress and more capable of implementing climate policy through local laws and policy initiatives, says Jillian Blanchard, director of the climate change program at Lawyers for Good Government. She lays out some of the tools local governments can use to shift to renewable energy and the legal considerations.

 

WYOMING

It’s past time to prepare for coal country’s future, contributed opinion by Bob LeResche, Casper Star Tribune

Believe what you will about climate change or a “war on coal,” the simple fact is coal is no longer cost competitive with renewable energy or natural gas. Coal will keep losing market share, more coal power plants will close, and those that are left will burn less coal.

Bob LeResche is a former Commissioner of Natural Resources of Alaska, energy executive and investment banker. He and his wife Carol own a ranch and heirloom vegetable farm near Clearmont, Wyoming. He is a board member of the Powder River Basin Resource Council and the Western Organization of Resource Councils.

XCEL’S RECORD-LOW-PRICE PROCUREMENT

Xcel’s record-low-price procurement highlights benefits of all-source competitive solicitations, Utility Dive

Xcel’s [all-source competitive solicitation] returned a $0.017/kWh bid for wind, a $0.023/kWh bid for solar, and a $0.03/kWh bid for solar-plus-storage, according to a February 2021 Xcel presentation to Michigan regulators. These prices, compared to Colorado’s average January 2021 residential electricity price of $0.126/kWh, have other utilities asking how they can use this procurement approach.

NEWS FROM OTHER STATES

SOLAR ON FORMER COAL MINEFIELDS

Former coal mine land to be transformed into solar energy sites in Wise County


WISE COUNTY, Va. (WJHL) – Collaborating groups in Southwest Virginia plan to repurpose land previously used for coal mining and convert it into sites for solar development. Five different sites in Wise County are designated to become utility-scale solar farms over the next few years. The project was initiated by the Nature Conservancy, a global environmental organization that has had a conservation program in Southwest Virginia since the early 1990s. Image Credit: Sun Tribe

Additional information on land use and utility-scale solar is available here: 

NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL

Five Wins for Clean Energy Innovation in Biden’s Budget, by Arjun Krishnaswami &  Sasha Stashwick

The Biden administration’s 2022 budget released on Friday includes major funding increases for important Department of Energy (DOE) programs to drive clean energy innovation, address the climate crisis, and build a strong and equitable economy. These funding increases complement the investments proposed in the President’s American Jobs Plan (AJP). Now it’s up to Congress to pass AJP and write a government funding bill that reflects the President’s proposals. 

RECYCLING WIND TURBINE BLADES

World’s largest offshore wind farm developer to recover, reuse or recycle turbine blades, CNBC

Denmark’s Orsted said Thursday it would “reuse, recycle, or recover” all turbine blades in its worldwide portfolio of wind farms once they’re decommissioned.  


Ørsted In Nebraska – Previously Posted 

Q1 2021: Amazon goes big, Ørsted is a fan of corporate procurement

By Sarah Golden, GreenBiz

Corporate renewable deals got off to a sleepy but respectable start in 2021, with the largest contracts from U.S. companies reaching just shy of 2 gigawatts of capacity. This represents a cooling from the fourth quarter’s blockbuster 7.3 GW but a steady climb from the first quarter of previous years — Q1 2019 saw 757 megawatts (MW) of deals; Q1 2020 included 1.6 GW. 

Ørsted, the Danish multinational energy company best known for offshore wind, made a strong showing as a developer for U.S. corporate procurements this quarter, participating in deals with Pepsi, steelmaker Nucor, Target and Hormel Foods. The contracts include portions of two massive onshore wind projects: the 298 MW Haystack project in Nebraska and the 367 MW Western Trail project in Texas. Target, Hormel and Pepsi have procured portions of the Nebraska project; Pepsi and Nucor are offtakers of the Texas project. Read more here.

Photo: Plum Creek Wind Farm in Wayne County, Nebraska. The Haystack project is under construction nearby.

Previously Posted

FACEBOOK’S RENEWABLES & ENERGY STORAGE

Facebook meets 100% renewable energy goal with over 6 GW of wind, solar, Utility Dive
Facebook said Thursday it had procured enough new renewable projects to meet 100% of energy needs for its global operations through clean resources, as of last year. The company has contracts in place for more than 6.1 GW of wind and solar across 18 states and five countries, within the same electric grids that power its data centers and operations. Of the energy contracted, Facebook said it currently has 2 GW of solar and 1.3 GW of wind online, along with 720 MW of energy storage.
Image Credit: Facebook

RE100 REACHES NEW MILESTONE 

  • RE100 reaches 300-member milestone, RE100 News Release
    As companies’ awareness of the impacts of climate change has grown, and with the opportunity to save money from wind and solar increasingly evident, buying renewables has moved from the fringe of corporate social responsibility practice to become a core element for business in securing their energy needs whilst driving down emissions and building positive relationships with employees, customers, investors and governments.
  • RE100 initiative hits 300 member milestone, Business Green
    The new cohort of members means nearly 320TW/h of corporate electricity around the world is set to switch to renewable sources in the coming years – equivalent to the electricity consumption of Australia and Italy, a spokesperson confirmed to BusinessGreen.

FROM THE AMERICAN PUBLIC POWER ASSOCIATION 

About APPA
The American Public Power Association is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide. We represent public power before the federal government to protect the interests of the more than 49 million people that public power utilities serve, and the 93,000 people they employ. We advocate and advise on electricity policy, technology, trends, training, and operations.

SEIA NEWS RELEASE

Solar Industry Unveils Environmental Justice Priorities, April 15, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is announcing its environmental justice priorities through a new policy platform that will support the organization’s advocacy efforts. The platform outlines principles for engagement, as well as environmental justice outcomes and policies that the organization will support to expand equitable access to solar energy and its benefits. The document lays out policies that expand access to clean energy and create industry jobs and workforce development training. It includes possible tax, climate, energy access and labor policies that build on SEIA’s ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice throughout the solar value chain.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

FREE APP FOR TESLA OWNERS

Tesla owners can now see how much solar or coal is powering their EVs, by Kirsten Korosec, TechCrunch

TezLab, a free app that’s like a Fitbit for a Tesla vehicle, pushed out a new feature this week that shows the energy mix — breaking down the exact types and percentages of fossil fuels and renewable energy — coming from charging locations, including Superchargers and third-party networks throughout the United States.

Photo Credit: Tesla

Target, Hormel Foods to source wind power from Ørsted in Nebraska

Renewables Now 

The two US firms have signed long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the Danish energy company that will see them receive supplies from its 298-MW Haystack wind project in Nebraska. The power plant is currently under construction and is planned to become operational later this year, Ørsted said on Thursday. Read more here.

Photo: Plum Creek Wind Farm in Wayne County, Nebraska. The Haystack Wind project is being built adjacent to Plum Creek Energy and will utilize interconnection infrastructure in Southwest Power Pool North.

Additional Recommended Reading

About Ørsted

Ørsted develops, constructs, and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants, and provides energy products to its customers. Ørsted ranks as the world’s most sustainable energy company in Corporate Knights’ 2021 index of the Global 100 most sustainable corporations in the world and is recognized on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader on climate action. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 6,179 people. For more information on Ørsted, visit orsted.com. 

Jason Kuiper Article

All about the Southwest Power Pool, The Wire

Verizon adds six PPAs for 845MW solar capacity

By Edith Hancock, PV Tech

Major telecoms provider Verizon has secured power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 845MW of solar electricity with four energy giants in the US. The PPAs with Lightsource BP, Invenergy, EDF Renewables and NextEra Energy Resources will be used to finance six solar projects which are due to be completed over the next two years. Read more here.

MORE CORPORATE RENEWABLE ENERGY PROCUREMENT NEWS 

Largest Solar Project in US Underway in Texas, Earth911
Who will purchase the energy? Corporations have already signed virtual Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for Samson’s solar electricity. “The Samson Solar Energy Center is the latest example of what can be achieved when companies and utilities seek an innovative partner to meet their sustainability goals and invest in a clean energy future,” said Ted Romaine, senior vice president of origination at Invenergy.

Leading U.S. Energy Buyers Support National Unity – On Clean Power, That Is, Triple Pundit
Despite a decades-long disinformation campaign by fossil stakeholders and their allies,  the latest data from Yale University’s program on Climate Change Communication reveal a strong majority consensus on climate change and climate science, highlighted by 86 percent support for funding that supports clean power research. There is no question that business leaders are on firm ground in the area of clean power.

ENERGY STORAGE

Beyond Declining Battery Prices: Six Ways to Evaluate Energy Storage in 2021, Greentech Media
Contributed article by Aaroh Kharaya, “product manager for energy storage at Clean Energy Associates (CEA). He is a licensed Professional Engineer with nine years of experience in electrical power systems and is also a subject matter expert in battery energy storage systems.”

GREEN HYDROGEN


Nel to slash cost of electrolysers by 75%, with green hydrogen at same price as fossil H2 by 2025, Recharge

Manufacturer is building a new fully automated electrolyser factory in Norway, which will be expanded to 2GW, resulting in huge economies of scale.

Green hydrogen cost reduction, International Renewable Energy Agency
This report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) outlines strategies to reduce electrolyser costs through continuous innovation, performance improvements and upscaling from megawatt (MW) to multi-gigawatt (GW) levels.

Canada is set to have one of the world’s biggest green hydrogen plants, CNBC
A major green hydrogen project in Canada took another step forward with an engineering contract awarded to a subsidiary of German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp. Canada could eventually be home to a number of green hydrogen facilities. Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, for example, is part of a consortium looking to develop another major plant that would be located in British Columbia, in the west of the country. Over the last few years, major firms including Repsol, Siemens Energy, Orsted and BP have gotten involved in projects connected to green hydrogen production.

BUILDING A GREEN ECONOMY & CLIMATE RESILIENCE


Carbon Markets for Farmers

Previously Posted Indianapolis Star articles by Sarah Bowman and London Gibson

  • There is a lot of money on the table with carbon markets. But farmers are skeptical.
    As more greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere and more companies pledge to go carbon neutral, interest in creating a market for carbon capture through agriculture is growing. Agriculture is now being seen by many as an untapped resource, and carbon markets the way to tap it.  “I think the potential is boundless, really,” said Mobley of The Nature Conservancy. “If it can work in Indiana, it can work anywhere in the country — politically, programmatically, with on-the-ground implementation, all of it.”
  • 5 things you need to know about what Biden’s plan for a carbon market means for farmers
    The incoming administration is proposing to create a carbon bank at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which would buy credits from farmers and then sell them to corporations for offsets. Several other private carbon market programs have popped up, both from companies and non-profit organizations that are developing their own platforms. 

GTM’S ENERGY GANG PODCAST

 

This week on The Energy Gang: What to make of Biden’s historic, sweeping actions on climate and clean energy?

 

Ørsted signs long-term power purchase agreements with PepsiCo for Nebraska and Texas wind farms

Ørsted Newsroom

PepsiCo Inc. has signed two agreements with Ørsted to purchase a portion of energy from the 298 MW Haystack wind project in Nebraska and the 367 MW Western Trail wind project in Texas.

“We’re excited to partner with PepsiCo in their efforts to decarbonize their operations,” said Ørsted Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Ørsted Onshore. “These PPAs at Western Trail and Haystack are another demonstration of our ability to provide customized solutions across multiple geographies to support achievement of corporate sustainability ambitions.” Continue reading here.

Previously Posted
Ørsted starts construction of 298 MW Nebraska wind project, Ørsted Newsroom

PepsiCo’s Renewable Energy Commitment
PepsiCo is a member of RE100 and the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance.
From RE100.Org: PepsiCo is committed to sourcing 100% renewable electricity across its company owned and controlled operations by 2030 and across its entire global operations by 2040.

Photo: Ørsted’s 230 MW Plum Creek Wind Farm in Wayne County, Nebraska, adjacent to the Haystack Wind Farm under construction.

100% clean power? Don’t wait for new technology, study says

By David Iaconangelo, E&E News 

The United States could transition to 100% carbon-free electricity more cheaply if it focuses on existing technologies and a national build-out of transmission, rather than next-generation technologies like carbon capture and small nuclear plants, according to a new study. Published in the journal Joule last week, the study finds that expanding transmission lines across states and regions, and implementing a national process for coordinating regional grids, could cut the cost of obtaining carbon-free power by 46% compared with a state-by-state decarbonization process.

Those regional grids could run entirely on technologies that have already been deployed in at least 1 gigawatt of scale, like onshore wind, solar, nuclear, hydropower, and energy storage strategies like short-duration batteries and pumped hydro, according to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Energy Initiative. Given the scale of that technical and political challenge, the federal government would need to guide the process, they said. Continue reading here.

Photo Credit: Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD)

CORPORATE 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY NEWS

NEBRASKA’S HAYSTACK WIND FARM IN THE NEWS

Siemens Gamesa clinches US onshore contract, reNEWS
Siemens Gamesa has signed an agreement with Orsted to supply the 298MW Haystack wind farm in Nebraska. In total, Siemens Gamesa has installed more than 23GW in the US and has a strong footprint in the country of manufacturing, service and offices.

Previously Posted: Ørsted starts construction of 298 MW Nebraska wind project, Ørsted News Release

COLORADO’S RENEWABLE ENERGY 

OPINION: To see Colorado’s renewable energy future, visit the Eastern Plains, Journal Advocate
Over the past 20 years, the counties of the Eastern Plains have become the epicenter of the Colorado renewable energy sector, hosting more than 95 percent of state’s wind and solar generating capacity. The writer, Greg Brophy, is a former state senator and a fourth-generation corn and melon farmer from Wray. He is the Colorado director of The Western Way.

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION

These were 10 key sustainable transport trends of 2020, by Katie Fehrenbacher, GreenBiz
Many books will be written about 2020 as a turning point in — you name it: American power. China relations. Democracy. In my corner of the universe, I think 2020 was a pivotal year for organizations, policymakers and the financial community to start to take sustainable and electric transportation more seriously as an emerging and powerful market — and as a key piece to tackle climate change.

ZERO-EMISSION AVIATION

US Startup ZeroAvia Sends Green Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powertrains Flying — CleanTechnica Interview, by Tina Casey, CleanTechnica

In a bit of news that could mean the end of flight-shaming, the US aircraft startup ZeroAvia now has a stable of A-list investors in its pocket and is ready to bring zero-emission, green hydrogen fuel cell flying powertrain to the traveling public. ZeroAvia is addressing the short haul market with plans to introduce a 10-20 seat hydrogen fuel cell aircraft, with a near time range goal of up to 500 miles as early as 2023.

CONSUMER REPORTS’ EV FACT SHEET

Electric vehicles save consumers money: A Consumer Reports analysis of electric vehicle (EV) ownership costs takes fuel, maintenance and repair costs into account, in addition to purchase price, financing, and resale value.

New coalition targets 25GW of renewables-based hydrogen production by 2026

By Jules Scully, PV-Tech

ACWA Power and Iberdrola are among the seven founders of a new coalition that aims to scale up the production of green hydrogen 50-fold in the next six years while halving production costs. The Green Hydrogen Catapult – which also includes CWP Renewables, Envision, Ørsted, Snam and Yara – will target the deployment of 25GW of renewables-based hydrogen production by 2026, with a goal of driving down the cost of producing the fuel to below US$2/kg.

It is estimated that the initiative will require an investment of around US$110 billion and create more than 120,000 jobs, as the founding partners look to accelerate the necessary technology, component manufacturing, market development and flow of investment. The seven companies will work towards the 25GW target by developing project capacity, supporting the design tools to solve early market challenges and sponsoring collaboration to accelerate economic growth using green hydrogen. Rocky Mountain Institute, a non-profit that promotes clean energy, will facilitate the initiative. Continue reading here.

Photo Credit: Iberdrola

Rocky Mountain Institute News Release: World’s green hydrogen leaders unite to drive 50-fold scale-up in six years

It is now estimated that green hydrogen could supply up to 25 percent of the world’s energy needs by 2050 and become a US$10 trillion addressable market by 2050. These projections are underpinned by the recent emergence of strong hydrogen-focused national hydrogen strategies around the world including in Australia, Chile, Germany, the EU, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain and South Korea.

Previously posted article also written by Jules Scully:  Scaling distributed solar and storage is lowest-cost path for US to reach clean electric grid – study, PV-Tech