“48 varieties of goods subject to the administration of export license in 2015 shall be subject to the administration of export quota license, export quota bidding and export license, respectively.

Goods subject to the administration of export license shall include: rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum; Enterprises that export rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum, should apply for an export license on the strength of the export contracts of the enterprises, no need the approval documents of the Ministry of Commerce;” the MOFCOM said in its announcements. (read more)

Thursday, November 27 2014
Deliberations over the best drivetrain architecture for supersize offshore wind turbines are moving on — to generators.
Generators are where wind energy — captured by the blades, coiled through the drivetrain — becomes power. Here, the double-fed induction generators (DFIGs) that have been fundamental to the modern turbine’s development are pitted against permanent-magnet generators (PMGs), whose high-efficiency, light-maintenance regimes have turned many in favour of the technology.

The subject was debated by a panel of experts at Recharge’s Technology roundtable discussion at WindEnergy Hamburg in September.

“When I came into wind power, I found an industry using a generator technology [DFIGs] that had been obsolete in the automotive business for 15 years,” said Jukka-Pekka Mäkinen, chief executive of Finnish PMG maker The Switch, leading off the discussions.
……..
For the generator, this comes down to two things: revolutions per minute and torque. “So a PMG is better for efficiency, reliability — all extremely important for machines in hostile offshore environments — though the DFIG would win on cost,” Andersen explained. “It’s a trade-off. But the PMG wins overall, on the total LCoE, because it has the optimal balance on capex, opex and unit production.”

Paul Jordan, global market sector head for clean energy and power generation at Ricardo, which had a hand in the early design work on the transmission system for Samsung’s 7MW S-171-7.0, takes a holistic view that weighs the “many recent advances in gearboxes and DFIGs” against the “many strengths” of direct-drive and PMGs.
……….
Schröter pointed out that DNV GL’s survey of those transmission system architectures in use worldwide shows the industry remains reluctant to back one technology over another. “There is no clear trend yet.” Behind the “technological beauty” of a given drivetrain concept, he said, politics looms large for any design that opts for a PMG, which relies on a supply of rare-earth materials, reserves of which are concentrated in a few countries, principally China.

Villanueva-Monzón said the supply chain is the second key factor behind a turbine’s “unit power” in deciding on its drivetrain topology. “We are not a multinational and we are not Chinese — we don’t have the buying power or the domestic resource. We have had to be careful in how we go to the market.”

Andersen concurred: “The dynamics of supply-chain cost, particularly the fluctuations in the rare-earth markets, have a great impact on the technology.”

Schröter was more circumspect, framing cost reduction in a matrix of “technology and its industrial ecosystem, politics, joint ventures” into which “everything feeds”, so that DFIGs and PMGs will both find homes in turbines designed for different locales. “We believe that DFIG and PMG systems will be with the industry for some time, and for good reasons: each has their disadvantages, but nothing that can’t be overcome.”

For the biggest turbines now up and running — and those still on the drawing board — PMGs are clearly in the ascendancy. The question now is what drivetrain architecture these generators will be married with: direct-drive, or medium-speed, one- or two-stage geared.

Hendrick noted: “PMG as a choice is more straightforward. Medium-speed or direct-drive is trickier. We have all seen these consultants’ presentations on the subject. Ultimately — because you really can make numbers say whatever you want — it comes down to this: What do you believe in, especially if you are projecting into the future?”

Mäkinen was more partisan, seeing a path for a new, high-speed class of PMG transmission system being pioneered by “forward-looking” Chinese turbine makers with 5MW models of this type already up and running.

“The Chinese are more progressive. As the average size of turbine gets bigger and more powerful, the industry will have to have a more open mind about the direction the technology takes,” he said. “Even high-speed PMGs could one day become the more obvious choice.”

https://repm2014.com/

By Tim Worstall:
1.  Chinese Rare Earth Metals Surprise, Free Markets Actually Work

2.  Big Surprise! Rare Earths Aren’t Rare

3.  Why Lynas Corp Is Struggling; The Great Rare Earth Shortage Is Truly Over

Turbine manufacturers such as Siemens Wind Power have been working to eliminate the most complicated and, therefore, sensitive element – the gearbox – by replacing it with a direct drive system.

These direct drive systems, powered by a permanent magnet generator, could run for years without maintenance.

Wind power breakdowns at a height of more than a hundred meters and potentially several hundred kilometers out to sea are not easy to fix.

According to Siemens, around half of the annual output of its wind turbines incorporate permanent magnet generators.

Siemens is not have been the first company to enter this new era of wind power, CTO Henrik Stiesdal, who built his first small wind turbine in 1976 and designed one of the first commercial wind turbines, licensed to Vestas in 1979, believes this can increase the company’s competitiveness.

“The Siemens claim to fame is that we have developed a simple and easy-to-industrialize machine that could significantly bring down energy costs,” he says.

The technology behind this achievement will be the focus of a seminar  at CWIEME Berlin in June.

“Two rare earths are used in the magnet – one is difficult and costly to source, while the other is not,” says Stiesdal. “In my seminar I will explain how we have managed to decrease the share of the truly ‘rare’ rare earth and will eventually eliminate it from the magnets we make in a few years’ time.”

According to Chloe Theobald, content manager for CWIEME Berlin: “Stiesdal is the industry authority on wind power technology and has so many invaluable insights to share with our guests at this year’s show.”- See more at: http://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/design/power/permanent-magnets-key-says-siemens-wind-power-expert-2014-05/#sthash.0Q06Ia4S.dpuf

http://www.fool.com.au/2014/05/01/will-lynas-corporation-limited-raise-capital-or-fold/

By Mike King – May 1, 2014

Rare earths producer Lynas Corporation Limited (ASX: LYC) is down to its last $23 million, having spent $74.3 million in the last quarter, placing the company in a perilous position.

The big problem for the company is that its production costs far exceed the average price it is currently receiving for its rare earth oxides (REO).

Lynas says the average selling price rose 5% to US$22.63/kg over the previous quarter, and received $21.9 million in revenues as a result. But operational, production and administration costs alone came to $46.1 million. Add in capital expenditure of around $7 million, debt repayments of $11.3 million, interest expenses of $9.2 million and other small expenses for a total of around $74 million, and you can see that the situation is clearly not sustainable.

During the last quarter, Lynas produced 1,089 tonnes, up 47% over the prior quarter, with the month of March alone contributing 575 tonnes. The company is targeting an annual production run rate of 11,000 tonnes and expects to meet that goal this quarter. But the company says it needs to produce double that (22,000 tonnes per annum) to get its cash cost down to $14-$15/kg REO.

And that’s just the cash cost and doesn’t include many other necessary expenses. It’s a bit like a gold miner saying they have cash costs of $600 an ounce, but their all-in-sustaining cost might be as much as $1,100 an ounce.

With just $23 million left in the bank, and US$440 million in debts, Lynas urgently needs to raise capital to stay in business. The company’s bankers may be wary of providing further financing, which leaves the possibility of Lynas asking shareholders to cough up some cash as a highly likely prospect.

With shares currently trading at 16.5 cents, the company may have to offer a significantly discounted price to entice investors to part with their hard earned cash. Even that may not be enough to keep the group afloat.