Daily Archives: January 9, 2021

Robots arent going to take over the world, but they can definitely make life a lot easier for humans. And that was the aim of BladeBUG, a UK startup that has developed insect-like robots to inspect, maintain, and repair offshore wind turbine blades without the need for rope access.

BladeBUGs founder and CEO, Chris Cieslak, has a background in wind turbine blade design. His company spotted a gap in the market: How will the offshore wind industry maintain and repair the giant turbine blades once theyre swooshing through the air, high above the water, without requiring wind turbine workers to dangle precariously above the sea? (Whos going to want to hang off the giant 14 MW Haliade-X Dogger Bank turbine blades? Yikes.) Not only does the robot make it safer for rope access technicians; it also saves money for the wind turbine companies, as its expensive to have humans climb out onto turbine blades.

So the now seven-person, London-based startup invented BladeBUG, a six-legged robot with suction cups on its feet that can change shape as it crawls along wind turbine blades. The robot has cameras so the operator can see whats going on, and its steered by a gaming controller from the top of the turbine. It uses sensors to find damage or anything hindering the wind turbiness efficiency.It can even make small repairs.

And for an extra dose of cool, drones can carry the BladeBUG robots to the offshore wind farms.

The young company was funded by the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, a UK government industrial innovation program. As a result, BladeBUG was able to form a partnership with theOffshore Renewable Energy Catapult,the UKs leading technology innovation center foroffshore wind, wave, and tidalenergy.

In October 2020, the BladeBUG robot successfully walked on an offshore wind turbine in Scotland (pictured above left).The BladeBUG will undergo commercial trials in 2021 and is expected to go to market in 2022. Heres a short video about these little robots that are set to play a big part in offshore wind growth:

Photo: BladeBug

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This bug robot will inspect and repair offshore wind turbine blades - Electrek.co

US offshore wind developer Mayflower Wind said that the price of electricity generated at its 804 MW wind farm offshore Massachusetts is on track to go down by around 10 per cent.

This is due to the recently increased and extended federal Offshore Wind Energy Investment Tax Credit, the developer said.

Mayflower Wind, a 50/50 joint venture between Shell New Energies and Ocean Winds, was selected as the winner in the second offshore wind solicitation in Massachusetts.

In the selected Low Cost Energy bid, the developer had committed to passing any federal tax credits to customers.

Due to the change in federal law and Mayflowers promise to rebate this value of federal tax credits written into the contracts with National Grid, Eversource, and Unitil, the projects electricity price of USD 77.76 per megawatt-hour should go down to USD 70.26 per megawatt-hour.

This price reduction likely means that the customers of the three Massachusetts electric utilities can expect to save over USD 25 million each year, resulting in USD 500 million lower electric bills over the life of the 20-year contracts due to recent changes in federal law, Mayflower Wind said.

Mayflower Winds contracts to provide wind energy have been approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, however, that approval is currently on hold pending consideration of a motion filed by the Attorney Generals Office to reconsider the compensation of the utilities.

Mayflower Wind creates environmental and economic value, Mayflower Wind CEO, Michael Brown, said.

We are proud of this consumer savings provision of our bid. The work we have done to embrace the federal tax credit program is putting us a trajectory to lower our price and increase our value to customers. We look forward to speedy resolution of the Attorney Generals pending motion and concluding the process of locking in this benefit to the customers.

The Mayflower Wind project is located over 30 miles south of Marthas Vineyard and 20 miles south of Nantucket. The wind farm is expected to start generating power in the mid-2020s.

Excerpt from:

Mayflower Wind Electricity Users Stand to Save USD 500 Million - Offshore WIND

The U.S. offshore wind industry appears poised at a brink of optimism it first saw a decade ago, when Obama administration officials talked of wind power assuming coals then-dominant role in the nations electric grid.

That moment was dashed when the Cape Wind proposal off Massachusetts was hounded away by its Cape Cod opponents, and the Obama offshore energy plans derailed by the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Now with the Biden administration looking to renewable energy as a cornerstone of economic recovery, offshore winds time could be here again. And just before leaving for the holidays, Congress took a step to push for employing more U.S. mariners in the industry.

The annual National Defense Authorization Act approved by Congress in its first override of a presidential veto by Donald Trump included a provision explicitly requiring that all U.S. laws including the Jones Act apply to renewable energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf.

By eliminating uncertainty over this issue, Congress will help unleash robust investment and job creation in the American maritime industry tied to clean offshore energy development, the American Maritime Partnership said in celebrating the final vote on New Years Day.

The bipartisan push to ensure wind developers comply with the Jones Act and Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953 came after months of dueling among lobbyists from wind and offshore services industries.

Wind power advocates warned a looming worldwide shortage of wind turbine installation vessels would hobble development of U.S. projects for years, before Jones Act-compliant WTIVs can be built.

The offshore industry countered that U.S. companies with their experience and expertise can keep the work rolling during that time without need for Jones Act waivers.

That outcome could be a win for both the U.S. maritime and commercial fishing industries. The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a coalition of fishermen and ports on the East and West coasts, hopes holding wind developers to Jones Act requirements could slow the pace of development and allow more breathing room for better planning by the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management, including more involvement by fishermen to reduce future conflicts.

The Biden administration will first have to deal with the Vineyard Wind project off southern New England, where the Trump administration in its final weeks attempted to pull the plug on permitting the 800-megawatt turbine array.

It was a last bit of drama in the Trump administrations schizophrenia over offshore wind. While Donald Trump ridiculed wind power at his public rallies, his own Department of Interior busily worked at approving offshore wind energy leases off the East Coast and mapping out new areas in the Pacific.

In fact the federal governments appetite for offshore energy leasing has persisted for decades, no matter whether a Republican or Democratic president occupies the White House.

An incoming Biden administration will likely do all it can to ease the path for offshore wind energy developers in the Northeast states, where like-minded state governments have grand aspirations for moving their energy sources over the horizon.

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Biden should provide a boost to offshore wind - WorkBoat

Innovation Norway has granted financial support to the Deep Purple project, which is developing a green hydrogen production system powered by offshore wind, with the hydrogen being stored on the seabed.

A consortium led by TechnipFMC is working on a pilot project that will see a green hydrogen offshore energy system being constructed and tested in Norway. The scope includes the development and testing of an advanced control and advisory system and a dynamic process simulator.

The pilot project, worth EUR 9 million, will enable the development of an advanced energy system for green hydrogen production powered by offshore wind and allow the consortium partners to prepare the system for large-scale offshore commercial use.

Deploying these systems offshore is an advantage from an environmental perspective and designing them autonomously and at scale is critical to accelerating the energy transition, according to TechnipFMC.

Securing the approvals and funding to proceed with a scale pilot is a critical step in the path to commercialization, said Jonathan Landes, President Subsea at TechnipFMC. We are grateful to our partners and to Innovation Norway for collaborating with us as we advance sustainable renewables production. Deep Purple is another example of our commitment to working with clients and industry to develop transformative technologies, leveraging our industry know-how and subsea expertise to serve the Energy Transition.

The consortium behind the project also includes Vattenfall, Repsol, ABB, NEL, DNV GL, UMOE and Slttland, and is supported by academia, research companies and clusters.

In 2019, TechnipFMC hired HYON to deliver engineering consultancy services for the project, which include work related to technology qualification, development of offshore wind foundations and subsea energy storage solutions.

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Norwegian Offshore Wind-to-Hydrogen Project Gets Financial Boost - Offshore WIND

Cylindrical floater specialist Sevan SSP has unveiled a novel design for a circular moonpool foundation for use on offshore wind farms in what it calls deeper, harsher, colder and windier sea areas.

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The company said the floating wind concept is based on Sevans cylindrical hull design for floating production, storage and offloading vessels and drilling rigs.

The small waterplane area cylindrical hull known as Sevan SWACH is a cylindrical floating moonpool foundation for offshore wind turbines.

The solution is scalable up to the wind turbines as large as 14 megawatts and offers excellent motion characteristics in challenging and harsh conditions, the company said.

It is suitable for modularised fabrication and assembly, with the shallow draft enabling the structure to be fully assembled onshore with a wet tow to final location.

As the offshore wind market is moving into deeper and harsher environments with larger turbines, there is a call for cost-efficient floating foundation technologies, the company said.

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Sevan goes round for offshore wind application - Upstream Online

Baltic Power, a subsidiary of Polish energy company PKN Orlen, has appointed Offshore Wind Consultants (OWC) as technical advisor for its 1.2 GW offshore wind development in the Baltic Sea.

OWC will support PKN Orlen during the development of the projectby the assurance of comprehensive technical advisory services.

This includes the provision of technical information, analysis and recommendations regarding issues related to both the project and the market, but also engagement in revision and verification of project deliverables.

OWCs Polish office, which started operations in May 2020, will lead the companys work on the project.

This technical advisory contract with OWC in Poland is confirmation that PKN Orlen is delivering on its promise to engage local businesses. We are proud to be engaged for such a major project, said Lukasz Sikorski, head of OWC in Poland.

PKN Orlen, through Baltic Power, holds a license to build wind farms in the Baltic Sea with a maximum total capacity of up to 1.2 GW.

The proposed area covers approximately 131 km2 and is located some 22 km off Choczewo and eba. The plan is to begin constructing the wind farm in 2024.

Excerpt from:

OWC to Work on Polish Offshore Wind Project - Offshore WIND

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Global Offshore Lubricants Market 2020 Emerging Technologies, Opportunity Assessment, Projections and Future Opportunities by 2025 - KSU | The...

On December 31, 2020, the US Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) issued Notice 2021-05 (the Notice),1 which provides relief for offshore renewable energy projects and renewable projects constructed on federal land. Specifically, the Notice allows the Continuity Safe Harbor (defined below) to be satisfied for projects constructed offshore or on federal land if they are placed into service no more than 10 calendar years after the calendar year during which construction began. This relief is expected to provide additional certainty for taxpayers developing projects offshore or on federal land, given the significant construction delays often associated with such projects.

Background

Under Section 45 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), qualified facilities, including wind power projects, are eligible for a production tax credit (PTC) for electricity produced and sold to an unrelated person. Under Section 48 of the Code, solar power projects (and electing wind power projects) are eligible for an investment tax credit (ITC) determined as a percentage of the basis of energy property placed in service. Both the ITC and PTC are subject to phase-out based on the date that construction begins on a project.

Recently, the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (the Relief Act), enacted as Division EE of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,2 extended certain deadlines for beginning of construction with regard to the ITC and the PTC. In the case of the ITC, the Relief Act extended the deadline for a 26% ITC from December 31, 2020, to December 31, 2022 (with a 22% ITC available for projects that begin construction by December 31, 2023). For the PTC, the Relief Act extended the deadline for 60% of the credit (0.9 cents per kilowatt-hour) from December 31, 2020, to December 31, 2021.

Additionally, the Relief Act further relaxed these deadlines for qualified offshore wind facilities, including wind farms that are located in the inland navigable waters or the coastal waters of the United States, allowing such facilities to elect either the PTC or the ITC, with a full 30% ITC available for offshore wind farms that begin construction by December 31, 2025, with no phase-out.

Under Notice 2013-29,3 the IRS provided two methods for establishing the date that a project begins construction: the physical work test and the 5% safe harbor. Under each of these methods, IRS guidance generally requires that a wind or solar project be placed in service within four calendar years after the date on which construction of the project began (the Continuity Safe Harbor) in order to be eligible for a safe harbor for determining the start of construction date of a project.4 Absent the Continuity Safe Harbor, a taxpayer would be required to satisfy a facts-and-circumstances test to demonstrate either a continuous program of construction (in the case of the physical work test) or continuous efforts toward completion (in the case of the 5% safe harbor), a test that could be difficult to satisfy and that could make a project difficult to finance.

Notice 2021-05

In the Notice, in response to comments from Congress and stakeholders, the IRS noted that renewable projects constructed offshore or on federal lands are subject to significantly greater delays than similar projects not constructed offshore or on federal land, including those due to stricter permitting requirements, the difficulty of installing equipment offshore, heightened environmental regulation and the need to construct new transmission lines to connect the projects to the US electrical grid system. The IRS observed that these delays are ordinarily outside the control of project developers and can result in project completion times of up to twice as long as those of similar projects not constructed offshore or on federal land. Moreover, although excusable disruptions, as described in Notice 2018-59,5 would not necessarily bar a taxpayer from satisfying the continuous construction or continuous efforts tests, the excusable disruption rules do not apply to the Continuity Safe Harbor.

In light of these potential delays, the Notice allows the Continuity Safe Harbor to be satisfied for projects constructed offshore or on federal land if they are placed into service no more than 10 calendar years after the calendar year during which construction began. This relief applies to Offshore Projects and Federal Land Projects. Offshore Projects include qualified facilities or energy property construction projects that will (1) be placed in service in inland navigable waters or coastal waters of the United States and (2) require the construction of one or more high-voltage transmission lines to connect the qualified facility or energy project to the US electrical grid system. Federal Land Projects include qualified facilities or energy property construction projects that will (1) be more than 50% placed in service on federal land, as determined by relative value or relative area, and (2) require the construction of one or more high-voltage transmission lines to connect the qualified facility or energy project to the US electrical grid system.

This relief is likely to be helpful to developers and investors contemplating offshore wind projects and projects on federal land, given the higher likelihood of project delays and accordingly higher risk of failing to satisfy the general Continuity Safe Harbor.

4 The IRS guidance on the Continuity Safe Harbor established by Notice 2013-29 has been updated on several occasions, but the guidance generally retains the four-year framework for the Continuity Safe Harbor. Recently, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS extended the Continuity Safe Harbor to five years for facilities or energy property that began construction in 2016 or 2017.

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Originally posted here:

IRS Grants Beginning of Construction Relief for Offshore Renewable Projects and Renewable Projects on Federal Land - JD Supra

Shepherd Offshore has entered into a partnership with North Tyneside Council to pursue redevelopment of the Swan Hunter Shipyard for the offshore wind sector.

Shepherd Offshore stated that it believes the site has a key role to play in supporting a transformative national industrial strategy for the energy sector in the UK.

The former shipyard is located on the North Bank of the River Tyne, with access roads, two quays, two river berths, a wet berth facility and vacant former office buildings.

The aim of the development of the Swan Hunter site is to attract investors and stakeholders, such as offshore wind companies, that can bring both value to the site and wider community.

Offshore wind farm project sites such as Dogger Bank, Hornsea and Firth of Forth can be accessed from the Swan Hunter shipyard site.

There is potential to link the Swan Hunter site to Neptune Energy Park.

The site is owned and managed by Shepherd Offshore and occupied by companies such as JDR Cables, Bridon-Bekaert, Royal IHC and Baker Hughes Energy Technology.

First opened in 1842 by Charles Sheridan Swan, the former shipyard is historic for its ship building, including the famous launch of Mauretania and construction of Ark Royal and Illustrious.

Shepherd Offshore said it is looking forward to working with the council by enhancing job creation and manufacturing capability to the Swan Hunter site.

Upon completion, Shepherd Offshore will be conducting a detailed assessment and due diligence of the present sites assets.

Councillor Bruce Pickard, deputy mayor of North Tyneside Council and cabinet member for regeneration, said: I am delighted that we have been able to secure its long-term future which I hope results in new jobs and opportunities for people here in North Tyneside and further afield.

Shepherd Offshore chairman Bruce Shepherd said: Shepherd Offshores plan is to remain supportive to the River Tyne North Bank Strategic Development Framework Plan (SDFP) by continuing to develop critical infrastructure and capacity, allowing the attraction of world class manufacturing and job creation.

The companys strategy is to attract businesses associated within the offshore, subsea, marine and energy sectors to the Swan Hunter site to continue enhancing the regions expertise.

Read more from the original source:

Shepherd Offshore to reboot Tyne shipyard - reNEWS

CHINA. The huge success of Hainan provinces offshore duty free sector is set to spawn similar zones elsewhere in China, according to a report in respected state-controlled media China Daily.

China Daily said today that Qingdao, in Chinas eastern Shandong province, is planning to set up more duty free stores.

The title quoted a 28 December report on news portal Jiemian.com citing Sun Zubin, Party Secretary of Qingdao Jiaodong Airport Economic Demonstration Zone. Sun said that the zone is planning a duty free mall for high-end international products, open to local residents to shop.

Chinese consumers are expected to shop for more overseas high-end products at domestic duty free stores, thanks to the growing demand for such products and the ongoing restrictions on outbound travel, experts said, reported China Daily.

Indications that the duty free shopping sector in the country is ready to ride the trend are evident from the duty free outlet plans of various provinces and cities.

China Daily predicts a widening of the offshore duty free net. Click on image to read the full story.

Many analysts (and The Moodie Davitt Report) believe that China will aggressively step up the development of its offshore duty free sector, both in Hainan province and in selected economic zones, to stimulate local consumption and economies and to repatriate overseas spending.

Qingdao Airport Economic Demonstration Zone, approved in October 2016, is an ambitious economic and infrastructure development project designed to create a world-class business zone anchored by aviation, hi-tech manufacturing, and high-level services. By 2025 the hi-tech, ecologically-driven smart airport will attain a throughput capacity of 35 million passengers and 500,000 tonnes of cargo.

The report said that Qingdao Cruise Terminal has also received indirect approval for duty free operations after it set up a joint venture with China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp (China Duty Free Groups parent company) for the purpose.

Quoting a recent Bain & Co and Tmall Luxury Division report, China Daily said that Chinese consumers are most likely to remain cautious about international travel even after the pandemic ends. As a result, most luxury brands believe that domestic growth will likely continue in 2021 at about 30 percent, it said. The luxury market on the mainland grew by 48 percent to around CNY346 billion last year, according to Bain & Co.

Footnote: State-controlled China Daily is a much-respected platform for official Chinese opinion and information. Established in 1981 as the national English-language newspaper, it has developed into a multi-media information platform serving more than 200 million readers worldwide. The group plays an important role as a channel for information exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

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Is offshore duty free sector set to extend beyond Hainan? China Daily report - The Moodie Davitt Report - The Moodie Davitt Report