Daily Archives: June 4, 2021

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A company hoping to build a wind power farm off the coast of southern New Jersey is partnering with Rutgers University and the state's clam industry to study the potential impacts of wind farms on the shellfish.

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC said Thursday it is funding a $500,000 study of how New Jersey's valuable clam industry might be impacted by offshore wind farms over the next 30 years.

The study also will take the possible impacts of climate change into account.

It will also examine the economics of the clam industry in the lease area in which Atlantic Shores hopes to build its projects, as well as in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, a coastal region running from Massachusetts to North Carolina.

The study will use an existing computer simulator at Rutgers to model clam biology, along with fishery captain and fleet behavior, federal management decisions, fishery economics, port structure and wind farm development.

"We are looking forward to having our model take this next step towards future casting, said Daphne Munroe, the studys principal investigator and associate professor of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers.

Atlantic Shores is a partnership between Shell New Energies US LLC, and EDF Renewables North America. The joint venture plans to develop more than 183,000 acres located 10 to 20 miles off the New Jersey coast between Atlantic City and Barnegat Light.

Once fully developed, the area has the potential to generate over 3,000 megawatts of wind energy, enough to power nearly 1.5 million homes, the company said.

We appreciate the willingness of the surf clam industry to actively participate with us in this effort, said Jennifer Daniels, development director at Atlantic Shores. Its through the application of tools like this simulator that we can responsibly develop our lease area and deliver renewable energy for New Jersey communities with minimized effects on the fishing industry.

New Jersey utility regulators could decide as soon as this month whether to approve the company's proposal.

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Rutgers, Offshore Wind Firm to Study Impact on Clams Off NJ Coast - NBC 10 Philadelphia

The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) will collaborate with energy-sector stakeholders, several national labs and universities in 10 states as the manager of a new Ocean Energy Safety Institute (OESI).

The goals of the new OESI include safer workplaces, improved environmental stewardship and greater U.S. energy security.

Through advances in technology, monitoring equipment and workforce training, the OESI will work to mitigate environmental and safety risks for both conventional and renewable energy technologies and prevent geohazards, work-process incidents and offshore oil spills.

The consortium is organized under an agreement announced in May between TEES and the U.S. Department of the Interiors Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Energy. The agreement calls for up to $40 million from the federal government over five years, as well as about $12 million in investments from consortium members.

A smaller-scale OESI had been operated until recently by TEES and two other Texas universities. Now, the OESI includes 16 universities in 10 states, including Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M University. It also involves several national labs and more than 20 stakeholders representing conventional and renewable energy including offshore wind and marine and hydrokinetic energy from every offshore energy producing region.

Tell us how we can help and well be right there, said John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System. Were delighted to contribute to the energy sector. It fuels so many jobs in Texas and across the country.

M. Katherine Banks, Texas A&M president, is the principal investigator on the OESI project. She applauded her team for pulling together a diverse array of stakeholders from the energy industry and academic institutions.

The universities involved in the OESI represent Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, California, Washington and Alaska.

We are glad the federal government selected Texas A&M to support the energy industry, Banks said. TEES has nationally recognized expertise in shepherding advanced research and development.

John Pappas, TEES director of center operations and adjunct faculty member in the Department of Ocean Engineering at Texas A&M, is the program manager for the OESI project. He called the new consortium a game-changer.

We look forward to being part of the next generation of safety and environmental protection technologies for offshore energy production, Pappas said. Our team is extraordinarily diverse, creative and talented. It will offer new solutions and new ways of thinking.

TEES will be responsible for developing a road map of projects in consultation with consortium members. Once approved by federal officials, the road map becomes a guide for individual projects with yearly objectives.

While the Department of the Interiors Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the Department of Energy will provide expertise, direction and oversight through a Joint Steering Committee (JSC), the OESI will operate independently. The JSC will include experts in oil and gas, offshore wind and marine and hydrokinetic energy, which is the method of converting energy from waves, tides, ocean currents, and thermal and dissolved-salt gradients into electricity.

Faisal Khan will be the OESI technical director. A chemical engineering professor, Khan is a leading researcher in offshore technology and safety engineering. He emphasized that consortium projects will entail researchers from a variety of engineering fields: ocean, industrial, chemical, civil, mechanical and others.

This is a multidisciplinary, holistic approach, Khan said. We will provide technical support and safety and environmental protection technologies for oil, gas, wind and wave energy production.

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Texas A&M System Tapped To Help Offshore Energy Industry - Texas A&M University Today

The drillship Deepwater Invictus drilled the Broadside-1 exploration well offshore Trinidad and Tobago.

(Courtesy Transocean)

Offshore staff

LONDON Production of natural gas, the main commodity in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), has been declining ever since 2015. Future gas output is projected to stay below 2017 numbers and then decline at a higher rate after 2024. In order to maintain the same level of production in the mid-term, the country needs to stimulate the exploration sector and pour investments in less explored areas such as deepwater offshore T&T, says GlobalData.

According to the companys latest report, Trinidad and Tobago Exploration & Production, 2021, natural gas production in T&T is expected to grow by an average of 2% in the next three years and reach more than 3,400 MMcf/d. However, in 2024, production will start declining at a rate of 3% to a value of 3,200 MMcf/d in 2025, assuming no new projects are brought online to compensate.

Svetlana Doh, Upstream Oil & Gas Analyst at GlobalData, said: There are 10 planned or announced projects expected to come online between 2020 and 2024, which will gradually supply 150 MMcf/d of natural gas in 2021 and almost 1.1 bcf/d in 2025. The largest production growth is coming from offshore Colibri and Matapal fields, operated by Royal Dutch Shell and bp, respectively. Both assets account for almost 43% of overall additional production from future fields.

However, it will barely compensate for the declining production from mature fields, causing the countrys overall gas production to decline after 2024.

With respect to exploration, seven discovery wells were drilled in 2019 and three in 2020 with various level of success.

However, BHPs exploration program in the so-called Southern license was not as encouraging, because the first well, Broadside-1, did not encounter any hydrocarbons and was plugged. The company is going to relinquish its two blocks due to unsuccessful exploration results.

Doh added: Since most developed and undeveloped shallow-water blocks are already licensed, the upside potential is expected to come from the deepwater acreage that is offered in the 2020 deepwater competitive bid round. However, the fact that the 2020 deepwater bidding round was postponed and will see further delays due to the sudden death of T&Ts energy minister, Franklin Khan, earlier this year, will have a negative impact on the countrys production trend.

Ultimately, continued investment will be needed in new exploration drilling in order not only to keep production growing, but constant.

06/03/2021

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Trinidad and Tobago needs deepwater exploration stimulus, analyst says - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

General view of the Walney Extension offshore wind farm operated by Orsted off the coast of Blackpool, Britain September 5, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble//File Photo

Investment firms Arendals Fossekompani (AFK) (AFK.OL) and Ferd have formed an offshore wind joint venture named Seagust to seek acreage in an upcoming tender in their native Norway, the companies said on Wednesday.

The venture will join several others that plan to bid in Norway's first offshore wind tender. L5N2NK3H7

"We have a huge opportunity in Norway to take the technologies that have been developed for offshore operations in general and make them part of a green value chain. For us it's important to be part of this," Seagust Chairman Morten Henriksen told Reuters.

Both AFK and Ferd own stakes in suppliers to the offshore wind sector.

AFK, which invests in green energy-related ventures, holds a majority stake in Volue (VOLUE.OL), a technology and analysis provider to European energy markets.

Privately-owned Ferd is one of Norway's largest investment firms and has a 50% stake in Aibel, a supplier to the sector.

Seagust is interested in both of the areas the Norwegian government has earmarked for development, of up to 4.5 gigawatt (GW), in the North Sea.

The areas are Utsira Nord, northwest of the oil industry capital Stavanger and suited to floating turbine technology, and Soerlige Nordsjoe II, bordering Danish sector of the North Sea and suitable for bottom-fixed installations.

Meanwhile, the size of Seagust's planned investment and projects depend on the tender details, Henriksen said. Authorities will provide details on June 11.

The partners also plan to expand into other markets once they have built a position in Norway, but it was too early to name specific countries at this point, he added.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Investment firms form Seagust JV to bid for Norway offshore wind - Reuters

Partnering with Glosten, a design and consulting firm in the marine industry, and PelaStar, developer of the tension-leg platform floating wind turbine foundation, GE is designing and developing controls to support an offshore turbine structure that could be as large as 850+ feet.

Designing the controls system with the tower and Glostens floating platform, and implementing a 12 MW GE turbine built with composite materials, the offshore turbines could be 35% lower in mass compared to current floating turbines, and could be used in offshore installations at depths deeper than 60m. Enhancements such as these would expand U.S. offshore wind potential to nearly double the current U.S. energy consumption, with current consumption at 4,000 TeraWatt hours and the new potential available of more than 7,000 TeraWatt hours.

Explaining the vast project of building a floating platform of this size and strength, Rogier Blom, the projects principal investigator and a senior principal engineer in model-based controls with GE Global Research, said, Designing a floating turbine is like putting a bus on a tall pole, making it float and then stabilizing it while it interacts with wind and waves. Doing this well is both a design and controls challenge.

Ben Ackers, vice president and principal of Glostens Ocean Engineering and Analysis group said, Collaborating closely with GE gives us another layer of detailed engineering design input beyond the standard drivers of site conditions, construction cost, schedule, and the resulting LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy). This is the cooperation needed to bring floating wind to technical and commercial success.

Looking toward the future of offshore wind energy, Mr. Blom added, With GEs Haliade-X, the worlds most powerful offshore wind turbine built to date, were just beginning to tap into the future promise of offshore wind power in Europe, the US, and other parts of the globe. Today, these fixed-bottom wind turbines are limited to depths of 60 meters or less. With floating turbines, we would be able to dramatically expand the reaches of offshore wind power to areas with water depths of 60 meters or greater.

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GE Developing Controls to Support 12 MW Offshore Wind Turbines - Composites Manufacturing Magazine

Equinor has selected Swedens MMT to carry out the 2021 export cable route surveys for the Beacon Wind wind farm offshore Massachusetts, US.

The project is led by MMTs team based in Providence MMT US Inc.

Having commenced in April to complete in July, MMT, the Ocean Infinity company, is conducting a combination of geophysical, geotechnical, environmental, and benthic surveys along the export route of the Beacon Wind sites 1 and 2.

This contract is in addition to the offshore survey work awarded to MMT in 2020 which completed in May 2021.

The Beacon Wind offshore wind farm is located 20 miles south of Massachusetts and 60 miles off the coast of New York.

When complete, Beacon Wind 1 will provide 1,230 MW of offshore wind power to the State of New York.

Beacon Wind is being developed by Equinor and bp through their 50/50 strategic partnership in the US.

Equinor acquired the Beacon Wind lease in 2019. The site has the potential to be developed with a total capacity of more than 2.4 GW.

In January, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) selected Equinor and bp as the winners of the States second offshore wind solicitation.

Apart from Beacon Wind 1, the consortium was also successful with the 1,260 MW Empire Wind 2 project in this solicitation round.

Equinor is already developing the 816 MW Empire Wind Phase 1 wind farm whichwas selectedin New Yorks first-ever offshore wind solicitation in 2019 alongside rsted and Eversource Energys Sunrise Wind project.

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Equinor Stays with MMT on Beacon Wind - Offshore WIND

International Trade Minister, Graham Stuart, visited the worlds largest offshore construction grouting specialists FoundOcean in Livingston, Scotland, to announce a major new export contract won by the firm, which will create 30 new green jobs in the local area.

FoundOcean have won a contract to provide the foundations for a 100 turbine offshore wind farm in Taiwan after receiving financial support from UK Export Finance (UKEF), the governments export credit agency.

The company will provide the foundation grouting to enable wind turbines to be secured to the seabed to form the wind farm. The farm will then be able to produce over 1GW of power equivalent to 20% of the level the UK produces.

Graham Stuart MP, Minister for Exports, said: The UK has one of the worlds best export credit agencies in UKEF, which will help Scottish exporters such as FoundOcean as we level up every part of the UK and build back greener from the pandemic.

UKEF is helping us to accelerate the transition to clean energy, which will bring prosperity and a wide range of sustainable jobs to Scotland.

UK Government Minister for Scotland, David Duguid, said: Seeing a pioneering Scottish company like FoundOcean win this contract underlines UKEFs important role in showcasing Scotland as a thriving hub of industry on the world stage.

As well as creating 30 jobs, this work demonstrates the global potential for Scottish businesses in supporting clean energy, part of the UK Governments ambitious 10 point plan for an industrial green revolution.

FoundOcean has transitioned towards renewable energy over the last decade, and is now supplying some of the largest offshore wind farms in the world.

80% of FoundOceans businesses now comes from renewable energy projects and the firm now has clients across the globe in South East Asia, Gulf of Mexico and in the Netherlands, anticipating that over half of its contracts will be abroad in 2021.

Jim Bell, Chief Executive Officer of FoundOcean, said: Our business has been running for over fifty years and in the last few, weve managed the transition to mainly renewable energy.

Thanks to UKEFs support, we have been able to fulfil a major contract, grow our business and create vital jobs for people across the country. Were so proud to play a part in powering Taiwans own green energy drive.

The UK is one of the worlds biggest offshore wind markets with 10.4 GW of total installed capacity, and the UK government is helping UK companies export the countrys expertise to new, emerging markets a core part of its 10 point plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.

UKEF has provided 500 million of financing for three offshore wind projects in Taiwan since late 2019, helping to unlock the export potential of the UKs offshore wind sector.

Offshore wind projects often require a performance bond ensuring completion of the project at up to 15% of the contract value before work is even commenced. This would have meant putting a significant deposit forward and, due to the scale of the Taiwan project, FoundOcean was unable to arrange this through its bank. UKEF stepped in with bond support that enabled FoundOcean to fulfil the contract.

Craig Green, Export Finance Manager at UKEF, said: Businesses such as FoundOcean are central to the worlds renewable energy revolution, and UKEF is here to ensure they can export their specialist products across the globe, get paid, and create more jobs to support the transition.

Energy Global's Spring 2021 issue

The Spring issue of Energy Global features a varied spectrum of in-depth technical articles detailing recent projects, future projections, and technological advancements in the renewables sector, from companies including GlobalData, Atlas Copco, Watlow, QED Naval, TRACTO, AB Energy, and more.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/wind/04062021/ukef-to-support-offshore-wind-exports/

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UKEF to support offshore wind exports - Energy Global

June 4, 2021

Credit: vschlichting/AdobeStock

Denmark-based Aegir Insights, an offshore wind investment analytics company, has announced a partnership with Shell, where Aegir Insights will provide data-driven analytics and intelligence to help Shell's offshore wind business development.

Scott Urquhart, CEO of Aegir Insights said:"Leading offshore wind players recognize that having access to agile and advanced analytics solutions will provide them with a competitive edge in the fast-paced field of energy infrastructure investments,

"We are very happy to have such an ambitious, industry-leading partner at the outset of our business, and we look forward to sharing our forward-thinking, differentiated approaches to this rapidly evolving industry with Shell."

Through the partnership, Shell will gain access to Aegir Analytics solution as well as market intelligence data sets, which will enable it to make better informed decisions on offshore wind opportunities. Shell will also provide feedback on Aegir Insights product development roadmap.

Aegir Insights, whose team has a background from offshore wind industry players, including Orsted and Vattenfall, said that its Aegir Analytics platform was created to be a central solution for offshore wind investor workflows, allowing advanced project and portfolio assessments and rapid evaluation of new opportunities.

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Shell, Aegir Insights in Offshore Wind Collab - Offshore Engineer

ByRachel Morison (Bloomberg)

Britain could become a net exporter of electricity to Europe as soon as 2026, according to S&P Global Platts.

The U.K. imports about 7% of its electricity from Europe now, but thats set to reverse, in part due to new cables that will boost links with the continent. With Britainaiming toquadruple offshore wind capacity this decade, it could have excess power to send through those lines.

Power flows to where prices are highest. At the moment this is often Britain, particularly along the two cables from France. But prices are expected to rise in mainland Europe, especially in the biggest market Germany as coal, lignite and nuclear plants are closed down, according to Platts. That will alter the economics and flow of electricity.

The U.K. aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, and importing supplies of low-carbon electricity from countries like France, Norway and Denmark is part of that plan. Yet with power demand set to double over the period, Britain is also bolstering its own supply, targeting 40 gigawatts from offshore wind by 2030.

The U.K. market is getting structurally longer, while the whole of western Europe is moving in another direction, said Sabrina Kernbichler, European power analyst at S&P Global Platts.

New interconnector cables will boost Britains links with Europe to 18 gigawatts from 8 gigawatts by 2030. Theres a medium-term possibility that the country will become a net exporter, according to Andreas Gandolfo, an analyst at BloombergNEF.

But it wont last. While wind-power growth in the coming decade will depress prices in the U.K., the increased electrification of energy use will subsequently drive them up, he said.

Planned new interconnectors include:

2021Bloomberg L.P.

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Offshore Wind Could Turn UK into Net Power Exporter to Europe in Five Years gCaptain - gcaptain.com

04 Jun 2021byDavid Foxwell

Vessel owner and operator Crowley and training company RelyOn Nutec have signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance the availability of offshore wind safety training in the US

The agreement pairs the well-known Jones Act maritime solutions provider and vessel owner with RelyOn Nutec, a provider of specialised safety training and consultancy for the offshore oil and gas, offshore renewables and industrial sectors.

Together, the companies will develop and administer offshore wind training through the creation of Global Wind Organization (GWO) satellite facilities. The facilities will provide training to certified standards that align with the requirements of the GWO.

RelyOn Nutec Gulf of Mexico managing director Jenni Lewis said, Crowley is well-known as a leader in maritime operations and logistics and is growing its focus in the US offshore wind industry.

Combining Crowleys expertise in offshore operations and supply chain management with RelyOn Nutecs experience in wind training and management systems, expertise and global presence will ensure that training can be delivered in what is a fast-growing market for offshore wind in the US.

Working in co-operation with government and higher learning institutions, the training offered by RelyOn Nutec and Crowley will support the safety of mariners and windfarm technicians.

The partnership will draw on Crowleys hands-on experience in the energy sector to augment RelyOn Nutecs GWO training and provide training support for personnel on crew transfer vessels, service operation vessels and installation vessels.

Crowley New Energy vice president Jeff Andreini said, This partnership will combine Crowleys commitment to safety and RelyOn Nutecs tested safety training and consultancy in the offshore, renewables and industrial sectors. This will enable the growth of a qualified workforce to support the new energy sector.

Crowley Shipping announced the formation of its New Energy division earlier in 2021. Its New Energy division will concentrate on offshore wind and liquefied natural gas. Crowley said the new division will build on the companys 53-year history of supporting the offshore oil and gas industry with US-flag vessels, engineering and logistics services.

In March 2021, Crowley and Danish shipping company Esvagt announced plans to provide purpose-built Jones Act service operation vessels (SOVs) to the US market. The companies formed a joint venture that will see Crowley own and operate the vessels, complying with the requirements of the Jones Act. The companies will work together to develop and deliver US-flag SOVs.

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Crowley and RelyOn Nutec to provide offshore wind training in the US - Riviera Maritime Media