Vortec deal blows in

By ROB O'NEIL

Wind turbine developer Vortec Energy has secured a licensing deal with Australian renewable energy company Primergy.

Primergy has exclusive rights to Vortec's technology in the Australian market for turbines rated over 1 megawatt. Primergy also gains a non-exclusive manufacturing right to the turbines and a limited non-exclusive worldwide licence. The deal has a book value of $6.5 million, with expected royalty income of $28 million over the next decade.

Vortec managing director Robin Johannink said the revenue projections were based on the sale of licences with minimum perfomance criteria attached. Licensees pay an up-front fee for the licence and a royalty for every megawatt of installed capacity.

They have a minimum amount of installed capacity to install each year to maintain the licence. The projections are based on that minimum.

Two Australian sites are in negotiation, and Primergy expects to be commissioning a prototype 1 megawatt turbine early next year.

Vortec was established in 1995 after securing the exclusive licence to develop wind turbines from US aerospace giant Northrup Grumman. The turbine is designed to generate more energy at less unit cost than alternative units.