Links and News

2 May 2013

Windflow Commercial Team Expands for UK Sales

Mid-size wind specialists Windflow Technology and subsidiary Windflow UK welcome three new UK based staff members.  Stephen Squires has been appointed UK Sales Manager and Colin Risbridger as UK Development Manager for Windflow UK.  Andy Smith joins Windflow Technology as Deputy CEO, based in the UK for an initial six months.

“The opportunity for landowners to benefit from mid-size wind projects with the Feed-in Tariff, particularly with 500 kW turbines, is unprecedented”, said Mr Smith.  “I’m excited about the growth potential in the UK as Windflow looks to partner with many more landowners to get these projects installed and generating revenue.”

Mr Smith brings 20 years of international business experience to the company, helping companies such as €16 billion Lafarge S.A., the world leader in its sector, achieve solid top and bottom line results working in sales, marketing and business development.

Both Mr Squires and Mr Risbridger bring valuable experience helping farmers and communities to install mid-size wind projects in Scotland and northern England.  Stephen Squires built two mid-size wind businesses – turbine distributor IMS Windpower and balance of plant project manager Majestic Renewable Energy.  Colin Risbridger is based on the island of Westray, where the first UK Windflow 500 was installed earlier this year, and has overseen the development of several projects from 5 kW to 1.8 MW.

Windflow is one of the most experienced companies internationally in the ‘mid-size wind’ market (100 kW – 1 MW) with 99 of their 500 kW wind turbines installed since 2003.  Last year the company was chosen by a US Fortune 100 company to design a 500 kW turbine optimised for moderate wind speeds, which will be licensed in the Americas and Africa.

For further information: 

Please visit our websites: www.windflow.co.nz and www.windflow.co.uk

Or call:

Geoff Henderson, CEO/Director, Windflow Technology, +64 (0)3 365 8960

Andy Smith, Deputy CEO, Windflow Technology, +33 (0) 6 2588 1228

Andy Strowbridge, General Manager, Windflow UK, +44 (0)7711 147 321

Windflow UK is exhibiting at All Energy in Aberdeen 22-23 May 2013.
If you are looking to earn revenue through a Feed In Tariff with a 500 kW wind turbine, come and talk to the friendly Windflow UK team at stand G82.

It is free to attend All-Energy at the Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre.  You can register here.

As well as visiting the exhibition, you can also attend presentations on renewable energy topics.  See the conference overview here.

Windflow's 99th wind turbine (and first turbine outside New Zealand) is now generating revenue for the Company and renewable electricity for the locals on the Orkney Islands, Scotland.

Hammer Farm on the Orkney Island of Westray has high average wind speeds which mean that the turbine is expected to generate enough energy for 400 homes and revenue of over GBP350,000 (~NZ$640,000) per annum. Another two turbines are already ordered to be installed on the Scottish islands later in the year.

Windflow exported the blades and nacelle from New Zealand in late 2012, and worked with local Orkney based dealer Bryan J Rendall (Electrical) Limited for grid connection, communications and installation, and with Heddle Construction for civil works and erection. Unattended operation commenced on 13th March, the electrical issue, which was referred to in the Company's Preliminary Announcement of March 6th, having been resolved.

Tracey Jackson, marketing manager for dealer Bryan J Rendall (Electrical) Limited said, "Relative to our previous installation experiences we found that the elegant two bladed design is lighter and easier to transport and install. Although it is an innovative design and a first for the UK, it is tried and tested technology. The Windflow 500 has an outstanding performance in high winds, and the installation on Westray looks set to become the most productive turbine on the islands with a tip-height under 50 metres."

She added, "That's the kind of investment that our growing number of prospective clients across the Highlands and Islands are looking for - high returns for a low environmental impact."

The Company's 500 kW turbine qualifies for high pricing under the UK Feed-In Tariff, being four to ten times the electricity price in New Zealand. It has the highest energy output for a turbine with such a low profile (tip-height less than 50 metres).

Installing its first UK turbine on a remote and exceptionally windy site in the middle of winter was an ambitious task but the Company is proud of the NZ and Scottish team that persevered. Heavy snowfall, wind speeds over 100 mph and cancelled ferries at the end of January caused some delays but only a short lull in the wind was needed for the final lift of the fully assembled nacelle and rotor.

Andy Strowbridge, Windflow UK's General Manager said "It is great to have our first operating turbine in the UK. You can have almost 100 of them running well in New Zealand, but there is nothing quite like being able to see and touch an operating turbine, to make it more real to prospective customers. We look forward to it being joined by a couple more on Orkney later this year, with a strong pipeline of projects behind those. The support we have had from our dealer Bryan Rendall and other Orkney businesses has been tremendous."

Colin Risbridger, a renewable energy engineer and developer living on Westray, entered into a partnership with Windflow's development arm to install this first Windflow 500 in the UK, at the family's farm at Hammer. He said "I am proud to be working with a forward thinking company such as Windflow and contributing to the island's target to reach 100% renewable energy."

For further information: 
Geoff Henderson, 
CEO/Director, 
Ph 03 365 8960.

7 January 2013

Members of the 2020 group of Conservative MPs, made up of more than 60 Tory MPs, describe themselves as progressive and forward-looking Conservatives.

It includes several high-profile figures such as the Energy Minister Greg Barker, the Transport Secretary Justine Greening and the Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Letwin. 

On 7 January 2013, the group published a new document “2020 Vision: An Agenda for Transformation” in which two Conservative MPs, Laura Sandys and Claire Perry, specifically highlight the growing importance of wind, wave and tidal energy in protecting consumers against future unpredictable fossil fuel price rises.

Their document states:

• “There is a total convergence on what is good for business and what is good for the environment”
•  It is our energy sector - the renewal and decarbonisation of our electricity generation – that will determine whether we have a resilient economy designed for the future and hedged from the volatile costs of imported fossil fuel”

• ‘Greening the economy is not “nice to have” but a total necessity’.

This forward-looking group of Conservative MPs has clearly articulated a vision which many of us share. Opinion polls show that they’re in tune with the majority of public opinion on the growing importance of renewable energy.

We can build an escape route for consumers from the uncontrollable rise of fossil fuel prices by decarbonising our energy supply and generating clean electricity from our own natural resources.

The business case is compelling not just in terms of reducing the long term cost of energy, but also in securing economic growth, as nearly 90,000 of us will be working in the wind, wave and tidal energy industries by 2020.  

Resources:

More details of the 2020 group of Conservative MPs can be found here: http://www.2020conservatives.com/

“2020 Vision: An Agenda for Transformation” can be found here: http://www.2020conservatives.com/Downloads/20_20_Vision.pdf

The employment statistic comes from RenewableUK’s “Working for a Green Britain Vol 2”: http://www.renewableuk.com/en/publications/reports.cfm/Working-for-a-Green-Britain-Volume-2

21 December 2012

Third Windflow Turbine Destined for UK “home-coming”

Ludenhill Farm towards the north-west of the main island of Orkney, north of Scotland, is the destination for the third Windflow 500 kW wind turbine for the UK.  Windflow has now entered into a land lease agreement, to build, own and operate the turbine and has received financing approval for this project, subject to any shareholder approvals which might be necessary as the project progresses.   Windflow Hammer Ltd (Windflow’s project development subsidiary) will develop the project and will initially own the turbine. It is the third of the three Windflow turbines for the UK which the turbine manufacturer will fund through its July 2012 construction finance agreement with one of its major shareholders.  

The landowner gained planning and grid connection offers with support from local dealer Bryan J Rendall (Electrical) Limited.  Planners approved the project earlier this year in a relatively quick timeframe thanks to its tip-height being under 50 m. 

This site is visible from Burgar Hill, the 1980s location of research wind turbines built by Wind Energy Group for the UK government.  The Windflow 500 is based on Wind Energy Group’s subsequent turbines developed when Geoff Henderson, founder and CEO of Windflow Technology Ltd, was project engineer there in the 1980s.  In a sense therefore, the Windflow turbine is “coming home” to Orkney.  The Class 1A turbine is proven in New Zealand’s strong winds, so is well suited to the site.

As announced earlier in December, New Holland farm on the main island of Orkney is the destination for the second Windflow 500 in the UK.  This will be the 100th turbine produced in New Zealand by Windflow Technology.

Turbine 99, “Barrie” (named after the late Barrie Leay), left Christchurch in October, arrived in Kirkwall early December and is being installed at the Hammer farm on Westray (one of the Orkney Islands) in early 2013.  Turbines 100 and 101 (the second and third turbines for the UK) will be assembled at Windflow’s Christchurch facility before being dispatched to the UK in late 2013. 

Once operating, these turbines will earn minimum revenues of approximately 22 p/kWh through the UK government’s Feed-In Tariff scheme.  Combined with the high winds of the Orkneys and the proven high-wind performance of the Windflow 500, this revenue will enable excellent returns on investment.

Windflow is currently planning a capital raising for early 2013 which will ensure the Company can realise its opportunities in the UK and elsewhere.

ENDS 

For further information:

Geoff Henderson, CEO/Director, Windflow Technology Ltd, Ph 03 365 8960 (NZ)

Andy Strowbridge, Sales Manager, Windflow UK, Ph +44 (0) 7711 147 321 (UK)

TV coverage of the first Windflow turbine enroute to Scotland is here.

18 October 2012

Local Manufacturer’s First Wind Turbine Shipment

New Zealand’s local wind turbine manufacturer, Windflow Technology (WTL), has taken its first steps as an exporter. 

After nearly ten years manufacturing turbines for the strong and turbulent winds in New Zealand, turbine number 99 is destined for a windy farm on Westray, one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. 

Four 16 metre long blades (two sets) manufactured by subsidiary company Wind Blades Ltd were loaded onto a ship in Auckland last Tuesday bound for the UK.  The nacelle of the turbine has been tested and commissioned in WTL’s Christchurch nacelle assembly factory and is due to leave from Lyttelton this week.  Minister of Energy, Hon Phil Heatley joined Windflow staff, suppliers and shareholders at the factory yesterday to close the door on the shipping container during a brief ‘send off’ ceremony.

The Minister commented “It’s great to see innovative companies like Windflow Technology breaking into competitive international markets.  As the sole manufacturer of wind turbines in New Zealand, your achievement marks an important occasion for New Zealand’s wind and manufacturing industries”.

The isolated Scottish site required a proven mid-size turbine that could be transported and installed easily.  Christchurch based Windflow is one of the most experienced suppliers of 500 kW, IEC Class 1A turbines (highest wind speeds and most turbulent conditions) in the world.

A UK government policy introduced in early 2010 has created demand for Windflow’s 500 kW turbine, particularly in the north of Scotland, and the company established ‘Windflow UK’ in 2011 to support the market. 

The first exported Windflow turbine is expected to be installed and commissioned on the site in early 2013.

BACKGROUND:

• Windflow’s 500 kW wind turbines are deemed ‘commercially proven’ by independent wind energy experts Garrad Hassan, and are certified to IEC Class 1A (Edition 3) by Lloyds Register.  IEC Class 1A certifies the turbine for operation in average annual mean wind speeds of up to 10 m/s, and extreme fifty year gusts of 70 m/s (over 250 km/hr).  The first Windflow 500 turbine was installed near Christchurch in 2003 and 98 are now in operation. They have been performing above their warranted availability levels in New Zealand’s strong wind conditions. 
• The turbine project is owned by a special purpose vehicle ‘Hammer Westray LLP’ which is a limited liability partnership between Windflow Hammer Ltd, and the local Scottish developer, Colin Risbridger.  Windflow Hammer Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Windflow UK Ltd which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WTL.