It Looks Like The NDIC Site Is Back Up -- February 24, 2016

Updates

August 18, 2016: update on Vestas. Thriving. 

A project to install hundreds of wind turbines in the Fosen peninsula area of Norway at one point was shelved as unfeasible. The strong breezes that whip off the sea can shift and swing unpredictably, while the soaring cliffs and steep drop-offs create turbulence that wears out expensive equipment.

The venture was rescued with a lot of help from the mathematical calculations of Vestas Wind Systems, a Danish wind power company.

Vestas used data to figure out how to use more powerful turbines for the project, and precisely where to place them. That meant the utility developing the facility could buy fewer turbines, helping cut costs and balancing the economics of the $1.2 billion project.

The company is at the forefront of efforts to make wind a competitive source of energy, rather than just a subsidized experiment. In doing so, it has become a model for the renewables industry, which has struggled at times to remain viable while facing cuts to government subsidies and volatile oil and gas prices. 

Original Post

 

It looks like the NDIC site came back up about 7:30 p.m. tonight.

John Kemp's weekly energy tweets suggest that oil and gasoline stocks are still "off the chart"; setting new records

• US refineries are running at a seasonal record 15.7 million bopd; to met strong gasoline demand(up from 15.2 million which also at record highs)
• US distillate consumption continues to weaken and now running 660,000 below 2015; setting new "low" records
• US distillate stock fell 1.7 million bbls last week; still exceeds ten-year high (slightly) and exceeds last year's number by a huge margin
• US gasoline consumption is recovering after weather-related disruptions; average 9.1 million bopd over last four weeks; not at record highs, but approaching 10-year record; much higher than last year at this time
• US gasoline stocks adjusted for consumption are still above the 10-year range but heading down and approaching the 10-year high which was set last year
• US gasoline stocks fell 2.2 million bbls last week; still "off the chart"; 16.4 million bbls more than 2015 and it was at a 10-year record last year; the graph has turned down down for the first time in a long time
• US total products stocks still "off the chart": 83. million bbls (11%) mor ethan 2015 and it was a 10-year record last year; it did fall a bit last week
• US commercial crude oil stocks are still "off the chart": 74 million bbbls (17%) more than last year and 2015 set a 10-year record
• US total crude and product stocks are "still off the chart": stocks fell slightly (5 million bbls last week) but stil 157 million (13%) higher than 2015 whch set a record

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Wind Turbine Manufacturing: US Cedes Bragging Rights To China 

EnergyWire is reporting:

General Electric Co. has ceded its position as the world's No. 1 wind turbine manufacturer to a Chinese competitor, according to 2015 market data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. Ltd. received orders for 7.8 gigawatts of new wind turbines in 2015, exceeding GE, which dropped to No. 3 globally with 5.9 GW of new commissioned capacity, according to BNEF. Vestas Wind Systems A/S of Denmark attracted 7.3 GW of new orders in 2015, solidifying its No. 2 ranking in the global supply chain.

While Goldwind maintains a North American headquarters in Chicago and has provided turbines to several U.S. wind farms, BNEF said that almost all of the company's recent growth was in the Chinese market, where wind power developers are riding an unprecedented boom. About 29 GW of new capacity came online in China last year alone.

David Halligan, CEO of Goldwind Americas, said Goldwind is pleased to be at the forefront of a global wind market that "is growing at an exponential rate."