Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband said:
"Our coastline means the offshore wind energy industry has the potential to employ tens of thousands of workers by 2020, manufacturing, transporting, installing and operating the new turbines. It will take an active government to get us there and the funds I am announcing today are part of the GBP120 million investment we are making this year and next in the wind industry to make that happen."
The Grant is issued by DECC to stimulate the development and demonstration of offshore wind technologies and components for larger multi-megawatt turbines to enable their faster deployment within the 2020 timeframe.
James G.P. Dehlsen, Chairman of Clipper Windpower, said:
"With the deployment of the 10 MW Clipper offshore turbine in UK waters, the nation will benefit from clean power, and also from the strong economic boost arising from the development and serial production of the turbines in the coming years. DECC’s leadership in initiating and expediting the Grant program is timely and will help to accelerate our planning for and delivery of the Britannia project. We are appreciative of the support and look forward to the opportunity to continue to work closely with the DECC."
The Britannia Project blade development is anticipated to take place at a new 4,000 m2 facility which Clipper expects to occupy on the River Tyne in the North East of England. Once constructed, each blade will be more than 70 metres long and weigh over 30 tonnes.
Clipper plans to utilise fully the emerging UK supply chain opportunities in developing the manufacturing process for the new 10 MW turbine. A fully operational Clipper 10 MW turbine will stand at 175 metres in height and, over its lifetime, is expected to displace the use of two million barrels of oil and offset the need to dispel 724,000 tons of CO2 into the earth’s atmosphere. Upon – serial production, the 10 MW turbines will be deployed initially in European waters.
As previously announced on 17th April 2008, The Crown Estate has agreed to purchase the Britannia prototype. This investment will allow The Crown Estate to gain firsthand knowledge of the challenges facing the development of wind turbines specialised for deep water marine deployment as the process of engaging industry to develop the next phase of offshore wind farms begins.
The Britannia turbine is under development in response to the UK Government policy supporting the deployment of offshore wind turbines as a key element of meeting part of its targets for renewable energy generation required by 2020. The Crown Estate is currently in the process of awarding a further 25 GW of offshore wind zones which are likely to enter construction during 2016.
According to MAKE Consulting, the offshore wind market is expected to grow by 45% from 2009 to 2015*, as governments are pledging to support wind parks at sea.
Clipper Windpower
Energy drives our world and our economy. It’s also the leading contributor to Global Warming and climate change. Wind energy – clean, renewable and cost competitive – is a practical solution. At Clipper Windpower, we strive to advance the technologies and services that make our customers more successful in the large-scale expansion of wind energy, lessening the impacts of fossil generation on the earth.
In the coming years, wind industry growth will be substantial. Wind energy will increasingly fill the need for new power and displace inefficient, costly and polluting carbon-based fuel generation in power grids around the world. At Clipper, we’re committed and passionate in our pursuit to increase shareholder value by helping to drive our energy economy to a greener, more sustainable energy future.
"Clipper"…our company name…
Clipper Windpower is a rapidly growing company engaged in wind energy technology, turbine manufacturing, and wind project development. With offices in the USA (California, Colorado, Iowa and Maryland), Mexico, Denmark and the United Kingdom, and a ISO9001:2000 QMS Certified, 330,000 square foot manufacturing and assembly facility located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the company designs advanced wind turbines, manufactures its 2.5 MW Liberty® wind turbine and actively develops wind power generating projects in the Americas and Europe. Clipper is a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM). Clipper’s ticker symbol is CWP.
How we work for you…
Our core business is wind energy. We can supply advanced wind turbines, complete wind energy facilities, or wind generated capacity that we own and operate in partnership with our customers. We can develop, finance, build, and operate facilities for you, or as a joint venture partner, or we can invest in and/or lead wind developments owned by others.
Until Liberty, conventional wind turbine architecture had essentially remained unchanged since the modern industry’s beginnings in the early 1980’s – over the years it has been simply scaled up again and again. Over recent years, at multi-megawatt proportions, this architecture has been pushed to its design limits, resulting in increasing component failures and rising unscheduled maintenance costs.
Recognizing wind’s technology constraints, in 2001 Clipper began discussions with proven wind energy thought leaders. With an aim to design the next generation of wind turbine architecture, Clipper’s design team consulted with thought leaders in wind turbine design engineering, leaders in construction and operation of many of the world’s mega-scale wind projects, and leaders in the service and customer support of fleets among the industry’s largest. The result – robust architecture appropriate in structure and economy of operation with an abundance of crew safety benefits, turbine health monitoring advancements for preventive maintenance, and economical installation advantages.
Based on over twenty-five years of wind industry experience and the design of three previous generations of wind turbines, Liberty reflects best practices and lessons learned as well as state-of-the-art technologies, including Clipper’s patented powertrain, generators, and power electronics…
• Four Patented MegaFlux® Permanent Magnet Generators
• Patented Quantum Drive® Distributed Powertrain
• Four Patented Permanent Magnet Generators
• Patented Variable Speed Technology
• IEEE 519 high power quality
• Low Voltage ride-through
• Superior lightning protection
• GL Certified Cold Weather Package
• Internal 2-ton hoist
• Hub accessibility from inside the nacelle
• Spacious full stand-up Nacelle work area
• Two-person service lift
• Advanced Condition-based Monitoring
• Multiple Powertrain inspection ports
• Crane size requirement for installation similar to 1.5 MW unit
• Choice of tower heights and rotor diameters for optimization
• Accommodates 50 or 60 hz
Quality Manufacturing
Assembly is performed at the Clipper Turbine Works facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Located near major road, rail and river barge services, the facility encompasses 330,000 square feet. Spare parts for support services are also facilitated from this location.
Clipper’s turbine components manufacturing is based on a global supply chain of well-established companies with specialized industrial expertise. Underpinning our core competencies of turbine design, assembly and supply chain management is a culture of quality. Clipper’s ISO 9001:2000 compliant Quality Management System "QMS," is designed to manage the full cycle of production from design and manufacturing through ongoing operation and maintenance. Trained quality assurance staff is on site at our Iowa assembly facility as well as at the plants of our key component suppliers to assure that production is performed to the highest standards.
Extensive testing, inspection and checks are performed on components and systems to verify integrity prior to delivery to the project site. Component inventory through serial and lot control ensures knowledge of components utilized within the final assembly.
