Latest news with #windfarm
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Boost for town as 200 new jobs present 'real opportunities for local people'
An energy giant recruiting for 200 new jobs in a Norfolk coastal town presents "real opportunities for local people", a councillor has said. RWE will begin recruiting for permanent roles at its Norfolk windfarm operations and maintenance base in Great Yarmouth early next year. Councillor Daniel Candon, who represents Bradwell North at Great Yarmouth Borough Council, has welcomed the new saying it is "a clear sign that our town is leading the way in the UK's energy future". Councillor Daniel Candon (Image: Supplied) 'The commitment of 200 new jobs is fantastic news for Great Yarmouth," he said. "For years we've been at the forefront of offshore energy and innovation and this announcement shows that the rest of the country is finally starting to take notice. "These jobs mean real opportunities for local people and renewed confidence in Great Yarmouth as a powerhouse in the energy sector.' READ MORE: East's energy sector blasts government for 'ignoring region' The permanent roles at RWE's South Denes peninsula port base will support the construction and maintenance of its Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone. The project is made up of three windfarms that will generate enough clean energy to power more than four million UK homes. Speaking at the Southern North Sea conference (SNS2025) at the Norfolk Showground in May, RWE's senior operations and maintenance packages manager, Richard Beck, said the company will aim to recruit locally. Richard Beck, RWE's senior operations and maintenance packages manager, speaking at the Southern North Sea conference at the Norfolk Showground (Image: EEEGR) He said RWE is already engaging with apprentices enrolling on courses at colleges across the region. 'There will be a high demand for these roles," he said, speaking at the annual event hosted by the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR). "There are fantastic careers for life and we have been seeing the seeds in the community.' RWE's Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone (Image: RWE) RWE's Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone is made up of three projects: Vanguard West, Vanguard East and Boreas. The projects have secured seabed rights, grid connections, Development Consent Orders and all other essential permits.
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Not financially viable: Australia's first commercial wind farm set to be decommissioned
Australia's first commercial wind farm is set to be decommissioned, as the company who owns it reveals it is no longer 'financially viable'. Renewable energy company Pacific Blue announced the Codrington wind farm, located near Port Fairy in southwest Victoria, is set to be decommissioned, as it is 'approaching the end of its technical life'. 'At this stage, Pacific Blue is not pursuing a repowering option for Codrington,' a statement from the company said. 'The site's grid connection would require significant upgrades and today's turbine siting requirements would preclude the installation of latest generation turbines which can have an output of over five times that of Codrington's current turbines. 'The company's analysis considered the limitations of space on the site and necessary upgrades to modernise the grid equipment, ultimately resolving that a new project at Codrington is not financially viable for this location.' The wind farm has been in operation for 25 years, and was officially opened by former Victorian Premier Steve Bracks in July 2001. The Codrington site was described by Pacific Blue as 'close to perfect', as it was placed to receive the full force of winds blowing off the Southern Ocean. Each year, the wind farm generated enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 10,000 Victorian homes and prevented 49,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – the equivalent of taking more than 17,000 cars off the roads, according to Pacific Blue. More than $9m was injected into the regional economy during construction and development and about 30 jobs were created with local companies contracted to install roads, foundations, towers, transformers and cabling to make the farm operational. Pacific Blue said they were 'deeply committed' to engaging with the communities surrounding Codrington and in southwest Victoria throughout the decommissioning process. 'The company also needs to account for the needs and preferences of the site's landholders, whom it has successfully partnered with for over 25 years,' a statement said. 'Pacific Blue is grateful for their continued support on this project.' Pacific Blue also said it is exploring how the 14 wind turbines, which have a hub height of 50m and blade tip height of 81m, could be recycled. 'The company is focused on delivering a thorough, respectful, and industry-leading decommissioning of Codrington Wind Farm, which includes exploring recycling options for as much of the site's infrastructure as possible while upholding safety and environmental expectations,' a statement said. The company confirmed the turbines will be dismantled by crane. The company is engaging with industry leaders to explore how best to recycle the blades, with options successfully executed overseas in the past including transforming them into surf boards and 'glamping pods'. Last year, Queensland MP Mick de Brenni was spotted wearing sneakers made from recycled wind turbine blades. In a statement, Pacific Blue revealed broader community and stakeholder engagement was planned for the second half of 2025. Permit conditions require the decommissioning to be completed within 12 months of the wind farm ceasing to generate electricity. Pacific Blue operates wind farms, hydro plants and solar farms across Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and NSW. Codrington's decommission prompted calls to the Federal government from the Smart Energy Council to mandate a national product stewardship scheme so 'smart energy solutions don't become tomorrow's waste crisis'.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Why 14 turbines at one of Australia's first wind farms are about to be torn down - marking the end of an era
Australian's first commercial wind farm is set to be painstakingly dismantled by cranes as the turbines reach the end of their 20-year lifespan. Sitting on rolling green hills overlooking Port Fairy in southwest Victoria, Pacific Blue's Codrington Windfarm is considered a 'close to perfect' location for wind towers. When the site opened in 2001, it was not only Australia's first commercial windfarm but also the largest of any kind in the country. The wind farm generates enough energy required to power 10,000 homes each year while avoiding the emission of nearly 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases. But almost 24 years later, the site's 14 50metre-high turbines are among the first of its generation to approach the end of their working lives. Pacific Blue said it hopes to become a renewables industry leader 'twice over' in its approach to dismantling the turbines using cranes. The project is a massive undertaking but is more likely to win the approval of surrounding communities than the alternative method of using explosives. 'A decision was recently made that all turbines at the Codrington Wind Farm will be disassembled onsite through the use of cranes in the reverse order of how the turbines were assembled,' a Pacific Blue spokesperson told Renew Economy. 'This project is the first of its kind in Australia and we take this responsibility very seriously.' Earlier this year, Pacific Blue announced it would not be repowering the ageing turbines and would, instead, explore options for their decommissioning. According to the company, which is headquartered east of the wind farm in Melbourne, the site is no longer commercially viable. To keep the site operational, its grid connection would require significant upgrades. And if the company were to replace the turbines with more modern equivalents, spacing requirements would preclude the installation of any more than four. 'The company's analysis considered the limitations of space on the site and necessary upgrades to modernise the grid equipment, ultimately resolving that a new project at Codrington is not financially viable for this location,' it said in a statement. Pacific Blue said permit conditions require the turbines to be decommissioned within 12 months after the farm stops generating power. According to Re-Alliance, 85 wind farms across Australia are due to retire by 2045. Given the relatively young age of Australia's wind farm industry, the question of how best to decommission retirement-age farms remains an open one. 'Pacific Blue has a long-standing relationship with the communities surrounding Codrington and its other four wind farms operating in the region,' the company said. 'The company will continue to engage with them regularly throughout the decommissioning. 'Broader community and stakeholder engagement is planned for the second half of 2025, once a clearer timeline for final generation is established and regulatory approvals for the decommissioning plan are in place.'
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Petition against Calderdale wind farm hits 10,000 signatures
Campaigners against proposals to build the largest onshore wind farm in England on a swathe of West Yorkshire moorland said their petition has hit its target of 10,000 group Stronger Together to Stop Calderdale Wind Farm said they were "delighted" that so many people have signed their petition to group wants to stop plans to build 41 turbines on land at Walshaw Moor near Hebden Energy Park, the company behind the development, said the farm would be capable of generating enough electricity to power about 250,000 homes a year. The firm recently started a non-statutory consultation over the proposals, after it reduced the number of turbines planned for the campaigners said they feared protected peatland would still be affected by the scheme, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Penny Price, a member of the campaign group, said that replacing the peatland with the turbines was "counterproductive". "It's an irreplaceable habitat so once you have destroyed peat, you've destroyed it for a thousand years," she said."Although what you see on the hill tops on the horizon are these fabulous massive turbines, there is a huge amount of infrastructure which has to go in for the development."All this infrastructure is very destructive to the peatland."Calderdale Energy Park previously said the scheme "presents a key opportunity to support the government's target to achieve at least 95% of low carbon energy generation by 2030".The firm said the project could reduce national CO2 emissions by approximately 354,000 tonnes each responds to all petitions that get more than 10,000 signatures. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Bloomberg
27-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Building a Pipeline in New York Takes More Than Just a Handshake
Welcome to our guide to the commodities markets powering the global economy. Today, Joe Ryan, who leads energy coverage in the Americas, discusses the political deal to restart work on a New York offshore wind project. Last week's agreement allowing construction to resume on a wind farm off the New York coast was another bit of quid pro quo from US President Donald Trump.
