Black & Veatch Scoops Cardinal Point Project


Major Wind Project Progresses in Illinois

Infrastructure specialist Black & Veatch has been awarded a development contract for a “major onshore wind” project in Illinois.

The agreement will see the company deliver engineering, procurement and construction services for the Cardinal Point Wind Project, a new 150-megawatt onshore wind facility. The project is under development by independent power generation company Capital Power.

“Adding Cardinal Point Wind to Capital Power’s generation assets continues the growth of our renewable portfolio across North America and demonstrates continued execution of this core element of our strategy.” said Darcy Trufyn, Capital Power’s senior vice president, operations, engineering and construction. “We are excited to work with Black & Veatch again to deliver this wind power project in Illinois.”

The award of the EPC contract for the Caridnal Point project marks a step forward for American onshore wind generation plans, which have been out of the spotlight as offshore projects have taken off.


Growing Demand
 
Last year, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, announced record–breaking offshore wind auction, delivering US$405 million in bids and spurring a new wave of breakbulk growth for U.S. coastal regions.
 
“Sustainability and resilience have become market drivers that are reshaping how the industry views the economics of renewable energy. Growing demand for wind and solar PV and the need to integrate renewable solutions with conventional generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure have changed the dynamics of the power market and are introducing incredible new opportunities,” said Dave Leligdon, global director of Black & Veatch’s renewable energy group.


US Spurs Wind Research
 
Despite apparent scepticism from the White House towards the wind sector, legislation has steadily moved to support new development in the U.S. The latest phase of this being support from the Department of Energy for wind research focused on offshore wind, tall towers, and distributed wind.
 
“Wind power is an important part of America’s energy strategy. Research, development and demonstration of innovative wind technologies can continue to drive down costs, and expand the success that we’ve seen in the land-based utility-scale wind sector to the emerging distributed wind and offshore wind sectors,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry.

Breakthroughs in research are expected to drive a trend towards larger turbine sizes over the next decade, benefitting specialised breakbulk firms capable of handling such cargoes.

Photo: Turbine. Credit: Capital Power
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