QUICK NEWS, September 5: FOR SALE – THE WORLD’S BIGGEST WINDMAKER; YINGLI GREEN COULD BE SUN KING 2012; ELEMENTS OF THE SMART GRID

FOR SALE – THE WORLD’S BIGGEST WINDMAKER

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“Brian Redmond, managing director at Paragon Energy Holdings, is not surprised by Vestas’ strategic-partnership talks. An expected slowdown in U.S. turbine orders is leading to capacity consolidation throughout the wind industry, he says…Meanwhile, Dan Shreve, director and partner at MAKE Consulting, speculates that both companies could benefit from synergies in the offshore wind space…

“…[B]y virtue of its…2010 acquisition of U.K.-based Artemis Intelligent Power, MHI could assist Vestas in the offshore wind space, Shreve points out…[T]he question lies in…whether the joint venture would take steps to commercialize [the Artemis] hydraulic drivetrain or move forward with Vestas' more traditional turbine architecture…Like Vestas, MHI's wind division has struggled lately... in part, from a protracted patent-infringement dispute with GE…[A] joint-venture partnership could provide a mechanism for MPSA to get around its legal issues…”

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YINGLI GREEN COULD BE SUN KING 2012

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“…[Yingli may take] the No.1 position for the first time ever – a position that was previously occupied by Suntech and First Solar…Yingli is also set to challenge the world record of PV module shipment within any calendar year, and become only the second company to post an annual shipment level that exceeds the 2GW-threshold. (Suntech was the first in 2011 with 2,096MW of shipment, and Suntech is likely to be ranked No.2 in 2012).

“Trina Solar, First Solar and Canadian Solar are likely to occupy the next 3 ranking positions in 2012…[J]ust 50MW of difference may change the relative positions. A similar situation is likely for SunPower, Jinko Solar, and Hanwha SolarOne, competing for 7th place…Sharp Solar is likely to be the only Japanese company…Seven of the top-10 companies for 2012 are China-based manufacturers. And the other 3 are characterized by having dominant manufacturing presence across Southeast Asia and Japan…[M]odule shipment from the top-10 companies will be equivalent to almost 50% of global module demand in 2012, increasing from 46% in 2011...one consequence of the global PV shakeout…”

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ELEMENTS OF THE SMART GRID Smart Grid Requires Utilities To Merge IT And OT Worlds

28 August 2012 (Renew Grid)

“Uncertainty as to how new information technology (IT) systems should be incorporated into network operations continues to slow the advancement of smart grid technologies and is driving the need for greater collaboration between the IT and operational technology (OT) sides of the business, according to a new report from Pike Research.

“The need to support smart meters has already driven significant change in the utility IT landscape with the introduction of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and meter data management systems (MDMS) and the replacement and upgrading of existing billing and customer information systems (CIS)…[but] the evolution of the smart grid from the initial deployment of smart meters to a dynamic, intelligent network supporting bi-directional communications between utilities and customers is only just beginning.”

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“Other focal points for IT transformation include distribution management systems (DMS) and the merging of enterprise IT and OT to improve operational efficiencies and move toward the goal of a closed-loop network management operation…[Advancements] are being driven by new application requirements such as electric vehicle charging systems, demand-side management applications and distributed generation management, including virtual power plants and microgrids…

“The worlds of IT and OT teams have historically been distinct within utilities. IT has been primarily focused on business process and customer management systems. Operational systems for managing and monitoring power networks have been the domain of operational teams…[but] the smart grid requires a more holistic view of how a utility operates at both a business and field level…[and] greater cooperation between IT and OT teams…The importance of ensuring the security of the electricity grid…cannot be underestimated…”

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