Daily Archives: October 1, 2021

Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy have formed an equal partnership to develop floating offshore wind farms off the Italian coast.

The new partnership also marks the start of the authorization process for the first project in Puglia, called Kailia Energia, in the waters off Brindisi.

Kailia Energias expected installed capacity will be around 1.2 GW, which would yield an expected annual production of 3.5 TWh, equivalent to the consumption of one million Italian households, avoiding the emission of two million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. The project is expected to create up to 4,000 direct jobs during the manufacturing, assembly, and construction phase.

Project developers will file the necessary documentation with the Ministero per la Transizione Ecologica (Ministry for Ecological Transition) to start the authorization process for the Kailia Energia floating offshore wind farm, which will start with a preliminary consultation, a procedure voluntarily carried out by the project developers and aimed at better defining the contents of the environmental impact study for the subsequent procedure of the environment impact assessment.

At the same time, the request for a maritime concession will be submitted to the Ministero delle Infrastrutture (Ministry of Infrastructure) and the Port Authority of the Southern Adriatic Sea.

The strategic importance of Puglia, in the national context and in the developers business plan, is confirmed by the preliminary analysis currently in progress for a second floating offshore wind farm in the region, Falck Renewables said.

Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy have committed to an early engagement with the territory and the local communities. The developers have embarked on a series of local stakeholder meetings to start a process of consultation and dialogue on the project proposals, that will continue throughout the entire process of project development.

Toni Volpe, CEO of Falck Renewables, said: Today we are bringing the floating offshore wind technology to Italy, demonstrating our commitment to achieving sustainable goals through the implementation of innovative technologies. This project is the result of an important work carried out in recent months by the partnership, and that has also involved local stakeholders in a process of dialogue and shared development with communities and territories.

This partnership builds on Falck Renewables strong local presence and development track record in Italy combined with BlueFloat Energys expertise in floating offshore wind and global footprint, Falck Renewables said.

The two companies see a strong potential for floating offshore wind in Italy, considering the characteristics of its coastline and the depth of its seas, for the production of renewable energy through the use of floating offshore wind technology, that will significantly contribute towards the national energy transition and regional autonomy, while fully respecting ecosystems.

Carlos Martin, CEO of BlueFloat Energy, said: As a global offshore wind developer with a unique floating wind expertise we are keen to contribute towards the development of this sector in Italy. Our recent experience of developing a floating wind project in Spain with Parc Tramuntana provides us with valuable insights into the unique challenges of developing this type of projects in the Mediterranean region. We are now approaching the Italian market with a partner with complementary strengths and skills, to deliver a world-class project that will enable energy transition in the region.

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1.2 GW Floating Wind Project Emerges Offshore Italy - Offshore WIND

The stage is set to begin making green hydrogen from the worlds abundant supply of seawater. But whether this niche-within-a-niche can stand on its own and become a competitive energy source remains uncertain.

Today, only about 1% of manmade hydrogen is considered to be green, and not a single atom of it is produced offshore.

In the offshore concept, the green label will be earned by splitting the hydrogen out of desalinated seawater with electrolyzers that run on renewable wind energy.

This represents an opportunity for oil and gas companies to not just lower their carbon footprints, but to leverage billions of dollars worth of existing offshore infrastructure.

Their platforms can host the electrolyzers. Their pipelines can transfer the product to shore. They may even be able to power their offshore facilities using the hydrogen produced at sea.

Offshore producers should also have no problem finding a market. PriceWaterhouseCoopers said in a report from last year that green-hydrogen exports could be worth $300 billion annually by 2050, supporting some 400,000 jobs globally.

However, the first set of offshore pilots are still in planning mode. It will take a few more years to assess the results once they start up. That means we may not know if offshore hydrogen is commercially viable until decades end.

Some of the biggest barriers that must be overcome were highlighted by a panel of leading hydrogen experts at the recent Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston.

The major hurdle is still the cost, explained Ren Peters. The cost of hydrogen production with electrolysis is still extremely high compared to gray- and blue-hydrogen production.

Peters is the business director at the Dutch technology group TNO which is one of a dozen partners trying to launch PosHYdon, the pilot for offshore hydrogen production. Startup is expected by early 2023 on a normally unmanned oil and gas platform operated by independent oil and gas company Neptune Energy.

Peters comments on cost were not relegated to the offshore aspect since all green hydrogen is made onshore today. In terms of tipping point for profitability, these are the relevant benchmarks.

The PosHYdon project may be groundbreaking, but it offers no immediate pathway to competing with grey hydrogen on a cost basis. It is merely a steppingstone.

Located just 8 miles off the Dutch coast, Neptunes platform was installed in 2013 to produce up to 15,000 B/D from the Amstel oil field.

The long-term ambition is to use offshore wind directly, but that would have cost too much for this pilot. However, the platform is fully electrified from shore which means it has an indirect connection to an offshore windfarm. Data from that farm will be used to simulate the variable supply that would be available to the electrolyzer in a real-world scenario.

That centerpiecea 1-MW electrolyzer inside a shipping containerwill sit on the topside where it will ingest desalinated seawater and pump out 400 kg/D of hydrogen. For perspective, 1 kg of hydrogen holds about the same energy in a fuel-cell vehicle as 1 gal of gasoline does in a conventional vehicle.

And with an estimated price tag of 10 million (about $11.7 million), Peters acknowledged that the pilot is quite expensive, especially given the relatively small size of its electrolyzer.

Running the bill up are things like power connections, a system to inject the hydrogen into a gas line, and all the design and safety studies for the untested approach.

PosHydon also reveals the need for government help, at least at this stage. Initially, first hydrogen production was hoped to be achieved by the end of this year. But that had to be pushed back since the project needed to find more Dutch partners to secure a 3.6 million subsidy from the Dutch government which was awarded in July.

This underscores that projects reliant on public financing may have extended timelines. To the point, PosHYdon may lose its distinction as the worlds first green hydrogen plant. This comes as a separate pilot was announced off the coast of France with a target startup in 2022. It now claims the worlds first title.

With all of this said, Peters pointed out that PosHYdon is definitely not a commercial project, its a learning project, meant to test the feasibility and gain offshore experience.

His hope is that the pilot clears the way for others that will achieve economies of scale. Among other things, that will require electrolysis plants of at least 100-MW input capacities, or even up to 1 GW. (More details on the PosHYdon pilot can be found in OTC 30698 and this JPT synopsis.)

Source: Neptune Energy.

To drive costs way down, one of the things that the entire spectrum of green hydrogen, not just offshore, needs most are larger electrolyzers.

The rule of thumb used today holds that electrolyzers cost around $1,000/kWor $1 million per MW. Some hydrogen supporters expect to see that price drop to around $300/kW in the next couple of years and then down to $100/kW by late decade.

Even at such a huge discount, Eric Miller, a senior advisor with the US Department of Energy (DOE), told attendees at OTC that it is only a necessary but not sufficient condition for achieving $1/kg of hydrogen.

The technology many are counting on to make green hydrogen competitive is called polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysis. Though it is not the cheapest option, PEM electrolysis is the most amenable to running at variable loads. This is very important if you want to run them off intermittent power sources like sunlight or wind.

Most of todays biggest commercial PEM units, called stacks, have input power limits of 5 MW and 10 MW. Thats not bad given that less than a decade ago, big was around 250 kW, said Miller.

Both then and now, to go bigger, hydrogen producers have simply taken a modular approach by grouping electrolyzers together.

Thats fine for a while, added Miller. But, when you get into the 100-MW or a gigawatt scale, thats a whole new technology.

The near-term potential for PEM electrolyzers is to at least increase their output density. Miller said this would create more compact, lower-footprint systems, which certainly have an advantage in offshore, remote constructions.

In addition to more powerful and/or efficient electrolyzers, the way they are made is in need of an overhaul.

For David Edwards, the hydrogen energy champion at industrial gas supplier Air Liquide, this may be the most important point.

The success of green-hydrogen production at scale requires us to have almost orders-of-magnitude reduction in capital costs of the electrolyzer system, he said.

It sounds daunting. But Edwards was firm that it is entirely possible.

He said electrolyzer makers are already moving away from boutique stack manufacturing in small shops and toward roll-to-roll and assembly-line techniques.

While it is early days for this shift, he cited the advancement of solar-panel manufacturing as an example of where things may be headed. Since 2010, the cost of utility-scale solar installations has dropped by 82%, thanks in large part to manufacturing improvements.

Air Liquide has tied part of its future to all this coming true after it acquired a minority stake a couple of years ago in a company called Hydrogenics. The firm, majority-owned by engine manufacturing giant Cummins, claims to be the first-to-market with scaled-up electrolyzers.

In January, Hydrogenics and Air Liquide completed the installation of what they say is the largest electrolyzer plant on Earth. The 20-MW plant (made of four 5-MW units) is powered by 99% renewable energy and located onshore in Bcancour, Qubec.

Automated production facilities are also on the agenda. The International Renewables Energy Agency said in a recent report that robotic automation represents a step-change cost reduction that enables production lines to churn out gigawatts of electrolyzers annually.

One example is Norwegian electrolyzer maker Nel, which is supplying the electrolyzer on the PosHYdon pilot. This year the company finished its first automated production line. The upgrade is part of Nels ambition to lower green hydrogen costs to $1.50/kg by 2025 and achieve a 2-GW annual capacity at its facility in Herya, Norway.

Additionally, electrolyzer makers are looking to shed costs on the various component pieces through standardization. Some of the big-ticket items this will impact include water purification systems, transformers, compressors, gas processors, and cooling systemsall of which represent at least half the cost of most electrolyzers.

Another cost component, and arguably just as important as all others, is the cost of the wind power.

In January, Rystad Energy used this point to throw cold water on the offshore hydrogen concept when it described current costs as a showstopper. The consultancy said using about half the power from a 1-GW windfarm would result in a green-hydrogen price of 5.10/kg ($6/kg).

In other words, taking production offshore may help companies achieve a net-zero carbon status but it also appears to have a net-zero impact on the unattractive economics. Rystad acknowledged that more competitive auctions for windfarms and advances on electrolyzer technology could improve the outlook.

Nevertheless, there is a big carrot here for windfarm operators to consider joining forces with hydrogen production.

Peters noted that North Sea windfarms are running out of near-shore real estate and will need to move further offshore in order to ensure grid balance. That really poses a bottleneck to the further growth of offshore wind beyond 2030, he said.

These so-called far-offshore windfarms will face increased costs as their power cables to shore must be longer. This could be mitigated, though, by coupling future installations with hydrogen production.

Peters pointed to a map during his remarks at OTC showing the extensive network of pipelines in the North Sea that terminate at points inside the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, and Denmark.

What TNO and others are proposing is that these pipelines start to be thought of as power cables. Peters said the biggest trunklines could each hold 10 to 20 GW of power potential in the form of flowing hydrogen.

This would also lower the cost for onshore power stations that convert the direct current voltage coming from the windfarms into alternating current, which is what the grid runs on.

There are concerns over pipeline compatibility, though, since hydrogen causes embrittlement in steel. However, Peters said some of the latest studies show that under the right conditions (i.e., pressure, temperature, and the pipeline metallurgy) that much of the existing infrastructure will be suitable for hydrogen transport.

On the high end, it is believed that about 20% of hydrogen can be mixed with natural gas in a conventional pipeline before problems arise.

In the PosHYdon project, hydrogen will flow into a pipeline at a maximum 10% concentration in the natural gas stream to a hub platform. From there, the hydrogen will flow to Rotterdam in a larger multiphase line at a 1% concentration.

Source: Tractebel Engie.

Existing infrastructure does help lower the capital requirements for hydrogen productionto an extent.

Beyond the North Sea, others including Saipem in Italys Adriatic Sea are considering the reuse of oil and gas platforms to house the electrolyzers. But while existing infrastructure can lower capital requirements, it also places a constraint on the size of the hydrolysis plants that can be used.

For instance, the PosHYdon project was limited to a 1-MW electrolyzer because of available space on the platforms topside and its cranes weight limit.

Even if bigger platforms are chosen for future projects, there is still the strong likelihood that scaling up to 100 MW and beyond will require dedicated, purpose-built facilities. One such proposal is Belgium engineering firm Tractebel Engies design for a 400-MW green-hydrogen platform.

Dedicated platforms are just one of the ideas swirling around. In February, the Danish government approved plans to build two manmade energy islands, one in the Baltic Sea and one in the North Sea, to house hundreds of wind turbines. The concept is still in the study phase, but the islands would likely be large enough to also accommodate electrolysis plants.

Whether retrofitted or installed on new facilities, yet another idea is to mix green hydrogen with ammonia. Ammonia is a proven carrier of hydrogen energy which allows the clean-burning gas to be transported as a liquid.

Today, ammonia is primarily used around the world to make fertilizer and treat wastewater. But with hydrogen attached, it has the potential to become the next bunker fuel for the worlds maritime fleet, which is in need of sulfur-free alternatives.

It could also be used to power offshore facilities, limiting the need for electrification as a way to decarbonize. This idea was also submitted at this years OTC by oil and gas technology firm NOV.

In OTC 31294, NOV outlines a concept for subsea storage tanks that will be filled with liquid ammonia laced with green hydrogen.

For a platform running on 20 MW of power and about 100 km from shore, NOV estimates around $250 million in certification costs. Opting for subsea green ammonia storage instead may cost about half that figure.

Windfarm operators could also benefit here by having the ability to convert their excess generation into an easily stored energy source.

However, NOV acknowledged that its cost projections are probably a bit too optimistic. They do not include the fact that its proposed technology, which is undergoing trials, needs further investment to become realized, nor do they consider the cost of wind power and ammonia feedstock.

Source: NOV.

OTC 30698 Offshore Hydrogen Production in the North Sea Enables Far Offshore Wind Development by Rene Peters, TNO; Jacqueline Vaessen, NexStep; Rene van der Meer, Neptune Energy.

OTC 31294 Subsea Liquid Energy StorageThe Bridge Between Oil and Energy/Hydrogen by Kristian Mikalsen, NOV.

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Understanding the Barriers to Offshore Green-Hydrogen Production - Journal of Petroleum Technology

VIANA DO CASTELO, Portugal, Sept 27 (Reuters) - From a colossal wind farm floating amid choppy ocean waves to hundreds of solar panels on the surface of a dammed reservoir, Portugal is exploring innovative ways to boost renewable energy.

Mass use of such projects may still be too pricey, but trailblazers like Portugal stand to benefit when costs ease.

Bathed in sunshine all year round and washed by the Atlantic Ocean, Portugal is seen by many in the renewable power sector as the perfect spot to capture energy from a cocktail of natural resources: sun, wind and water.

Solar parks and wind turbines became part of Portugal's landscape years ago but although around 70% of the electricity generated comes from renewable sources, the country still relies on imported fossil fuels to meet its energy needs.

Cutting down on fossil fuels is seen as a key to meeting a Paris Agreement commitment to curb the global average temperature rise to below 2 Degrees Celsius this century.

As Europe faces soaring power prices due to a global surge in gas prices, Portugal - where nearly 20% of the population struggles to keep homes warm - is not giving up on its "go green" dream and floating solutions could play a part.

Around 18 kms (11 miles) off the coast of the northern port city of Viana do Castelo, three behemoth offshore wind turbines, mounted on equally gigantic yellow floating structures, are anchored with chains to the bottom of the Atlantic.

"It is one of the largest offshore floating wind farms in the world," said Jose Pinheiro, project director of WindFloat Atlantic, a consortium which includes France's Engie (ENGIE.PA), Portugal's EDP Renovaveis, Repsol (REP.MC) and Principle Power.

Pinheiro sees it is a game-changer, not only for Portugal but for the world.

Installing turbines in deep sea, where winds are strong, allows it to harness more energy than the conventional structures onshore.

Solar panels of the Alto Rabagao Floating Solar Photovoltaic Park pilot project are seen at the Rabagao river basin, in Montalegre, Portugal, September 22, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Miguel Pereira

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Eventually, it will make electricity cheaper and Portugal less dependent on fossil fuels, Pinheiro said at the port from where maintenance crews often travel to the wind towers.

'PATH TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY'

But challenges persist. Pinheiro did not disclose how much the project cost but building offshore is always expensive.

A study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy said wind energy costs - offshore and onshore - could decline by up to 49% by 2050.

"It (the floating technology) will mature enough to become more cost-effective and that will bring large-scale offshore floating wind farms to our horizon," Pinheiro said.

Offshore wind farms also face opposition from fishing communities as they are not allowed to fish around the platforms or near the underwater cable that connects them to land.

"We are limited to the south by the windmills and to the north by the border" with Spain, veteran fisherman Vasco Presa said in a tiny fishing village near Viana do Castelo. "Of course this affects us."

A two-hour drive from Viana do Castelo, more floating solutions are being put to test.

Portugal's largest utility EDP installed in 2017 a floating photovoltaic solar power plant - a total of 840 solar panels - on the waters of the Alto Rabagao dam. It is now building a bigger similar park on the Alqueva dam in the south.

Overlooking the panels from inside a boat, local EDP director Nuno Guedes said that placing floating solar platforms on dams had huge benefits as they complement hydroelectric generation, reusing existing facilities and avoiding the use of more land.

"When there's more sun we have less water so both resources complement each other," he said. "This will help us on our path towards sustainability and a decarbonised society."

Reporting by Catarina Demony and Miguel Pereira;Additional reporting by Violeta Moura and Srgio Gonalves;Editing by Andrei Khalip and Emelia Sithole-Matarise

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Floating dreams: Portugal bets on pricey offshore wind, solar farms - Reuters

SALEM, MA It's Thursday, Sept. 30. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

The state's second major offshore wind port could be coming to Salem Harbor as part of the "Commonwealth Wind" plan officials unveiled at a Salem Wharf news conference on Thursday.

Vineyard Wind entered into an agreement with the city and Crowley Maritime Corporation to form the public-private partnership it said could create 900 full-time-equivalent jobs over the first five years of the project.

Officials said the agreement is contingent upon the company winning a state offshore wind procurement bid.

Read the full story here.

One of the suspects sought in connection to the near-fatal shooting of David Ortiz was shot to death, according to a Dominican newspaper.

Luis Alfredo Rivas Clase was shot multiple times Sunday afternoon in Santiago, Listin Diario reported. Clase, who also went by "The Surgeon," was the only one on the run of the 15 suspects wanted in the shooting of the Red Sox icon.

Peabody High takes safety steps after MA school threat: Peabody Veterans Memorial High School was among several schools across Massachusetts taking additional safety precautions Thursday after a "non-specific" threat of violence was posted on social media.Haverhill, Lawrence and Waltham were among the other high schools that had an added police presence at the schools because of the threat.

Rollins on hold: A U.S. Senate panel is split along party lines when it comes to Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins's nomination for U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts. See what Republicans said about the progressive prosecutor.

Shooting their way out of town: Smith & Wesson, the gun manufacturer based in Springfield for over a century and a half, is moving its headquarters out of Massachusetts due to proposed legislation the company said will hurt business. Here's where it's going.

There's always the radio: NBC is salivating over Tom Brady's return to New England. But a sizable segment of fans may not be able to watch the Buccaneers-Patriots game this weekend. Read why.

Cold case cracked: A Georgia man has been charged with the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old girl in Malden 30 years ago. Rodney Daniels, 48, was arrested in South Fulton, GA after a Middlesex grand jury indicted him on a charge of first-degree murder on Monday. He was scheduled to be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court on Thursday. Read more.

$100 million The price tag on a liquified national gas facility being considered near Worcester, where residents are expressing their opposition.

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Offshore Winds Of Change In Salem Habor: Patch PM - Patch.com

Be extra careful if you're headed to the beach along the East Coast this weekend.

Though it will roar hundreds of miles offshore, powerful Hurricane Sam is still forecast to kick up "life-threatening surf and rip current conditions" along the entire Atlantic seaboard over the weekend, the National Hurricane Center said.

Rip currents are a deadly beach hazard, which cause about 100 drowning deaths each year in the U.S., according to the National Weather Service.

As of Thursday evening, Hurricane Sam was the most powerful storm on the planet, AccuWeather said. The Category 4 hurricane was packing 145-mph winds and churning 550 miles to the south-southeast of Bermuda and moving north-northwest at 16 mph.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from Sam's center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles.

Tropical storm conditions are possible on Bermuda, where a tropical storm watch was in effect. "At this time it appears the main impact to Bermuda will be rough surf and rip currents from late Thursday into Saturday as Sam passes to the east," AccuWeather meteorologist Adam Douty said.

Tropics watch: Hurricane Sam grows stronger; 'life-threatening' surf expected along US coast

Swells generated by Sam will impact the northern Leeward Islands and the Greater Antilles, including Puerto Rico, during the next few days, the hurricane center said.

Swells are expected to reach Bermuda and the Bahamas by Friday.

Hurricane Sam and Tropical Storm Victor continued to churn in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Victor, which formed Wednesday afternoon, continued to spin in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean, the hurricane center said. The forecast for the storm shows it curving north and staying away from land as it swirls over the open ocean off the coast of Africa.

Victor is the 20th named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. Only one name Wanda remains on the regular list of storm names. A new supplemental list of names will be used if the regular list of names is exhausted before the season ends.

Story continues

Forecasters also were monitoring one other weather disturbance in the Atlantic, but it didn't appear likely to form into a depression or storm as of Thursday morning.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Sam will bring dangerous surf along the East Coast

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Hurricane Sam to stay well offshore this weekend but will still kick up dangerous surf along the East Coast - Yahoo News

Europe holds significant amounts of breeding and wintering seabirds. Many of theseperform annuallong-distance migrations between their breeding and wintering grounds; others carry out seasonal journeys along our coast lines. These movements put seabirds at potential risk from offshore wind farms development. For example, the Northern Gannet (Morusbassanus) and the Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissatridactyla) have been identified by scientists as being at high-risk of collision with offshore wind farms that overlap or obstruct breeding, migratory, and wintering habitats.

The European Unions long term decarbonisation strategy proposes that offshore wind will supply 30% of Europes electricity demands by 2050: around 20 times the offshore wind capacity available in Europe today. The decreased reliance on fossil fuels and a shift to renewable energy sources are essential to tackle the climate crisis. But the sheer scale of these development plans, especially when combined with other anthropogenic pressures at sea (oil and gas, shipping, fishing, mineral extraction etc.), cause major concerns on the impact it will have on marine wildlife, and specifically on already threatened seabirds that spend much of their life offshore.

The development of offshore wind farms can have potentially negative impacts on seabirds. Seabirds risk death by colliding with turbine rotor blades and risk being blocked or displaced from important foraging habitats or migration routes, with a linked increase in energy expenditures.

To avoid this, wemust planthe development of these offshore wind farms efficiently. The first step should be to place development away from seabird hotspots and critical habitats. Seabird sensitivity maps can help identify these hotspots and inform where there can be new development. Understanding the distribution and abundance of seabirds at-sea is key. We have been working to identify data sources for seabird abundance and distribution in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, and to highlight data availability and data gaps that can inform or hinder marine spatial planning.

There is a vast amount of seabird data currently scattered between various data holders, such as NGOs, statutory nature conservation bodies (SNCBs), government agencies, and offshore developers (a full review of the data sources that we have identified can be viewed in our. A centralised and publicly accessible database combining these datasets will save vital time and resources, make data gaps more obvious, and help prioritise future research. This shared data resource would bolster the regional understanding of seabird movements and distributions and inform appropriate marine spatial planning development to mitigate the negative impacts of offshore wind.

Strong marine spatial planning, based on scientific research and expert knowledge, is needed to reduce the negative impactsof offshore wind development on seabirds. This is an issue that crosses national borders and spans across our ocean basins. The collaborationand data sharingbetween nations can inform thewell-plannedexpansion of offshore renewables while protecting natureand the marine environment.

Read our report here.

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How offshore wind development impacts seabirds in the North Sea and Baltic Sea - BirdLife International

SSE PLC has formed a joint venture in Japan to gain a foothold in one of the most promising markets for offshore wind.

The Scottish utility, one of the companies behind the worlds largest offshore wind park, will pay $208 million (23 billion) to take an 80% stake in a joint venture with Pacifico Energy, one of Japans largest renewable energy firms, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

The expansion comes after activist investor Elliott Investment Management called for the company to spin off its renewable arm. Elliott is now said to be one of its top five shareholders. SSE has said no decision has been made.

Japan has big plans for its offshore wind market, targeting 10 gigawatts by 2030 and 30-45 gigawatts a decade later. SSE has so far been focused on the U.K. but said in March it was looking for a move into Japan to leverage its expertise. The company is developing the 3.6-gigawatt Dogger Bank project off the east coast of England, the largest of its kind.

Rothschild & Co. and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP acted as respective financial and legal advisers on the transaction.

Separately, SSE said that output at its renewables unit in the U.K. fell as much as 32% in the first half, or 11% below its own target. Britain experienced a period of particularly low wind earlier this month that led to record power price spikes.

This shortfall was driven by unfavorable weather conditions over the summer, which was one of the least windy across most of the U.K. and Ireland and one of the driest in SSEs hydro catchment areas in the last seventy years, the company said.

In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

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World's biggest offshore wind farm developer moves into Japan - The Japan Times

By Rep. Sherman H. Hutchins

There is no compatible mixing of wind turbines and fishing!

The endangered species of the Maine fishing family is already dancing around the newly announced National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) restrictions to protect the right whales from gear entanglement. Add several 10,000-ton floating wind turbines, and even more whale restrictions on the NOAA docket (98 percent gear reduction in 10 years), and you have a severely impacted Maine fishing industry. Special purple markings on their end lines prove Maine lobster fishermen are not entangling whales. This current regulation also includes a 1,700-pound breakaway feature that releases the gear in the event of a whale encounter.

According to NOAA data, the Maine lobster fishery has never killed or seriously injured a right whale, and there have been no right whale Maine lobster gear entanglements in 17 years. The recent addition by the Biden administration of additional restrictions, without evidence that Maine fisheries are contributing to the problem, defies science, logic and common sense. Maine lobstermen have been leaders in conservation efforts for decades.

The ever-increasing restrictions on where Mainers can fish is the problem. From east to west, the coast of Maine is already divided into seven lobster fishing zones that are considered under maximum pressure. Lobster fishermen are required to stay in their own zones. They can fish up to 49 percent of their traps outside their declared zones, but must get special permission and appropriate tags from the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Most decline to do so, because it would intrude on other peoples traditional fishing areas.

Imagine, what happens when these narrow corridors are further decimated by wind farms? What happens when Zone B shrinks to accommodate a floating array of wind turbines? There is no place for the Zone B fishermen to go, and no room in the other zones to double up. The fishermen (and our food supply) will be squeezed once again.

Although there is a 3-mile from shore moratorium on placement of wind turbines in state waters, some cables can run up 25 to 30 miles to get to the three-mile line. That is a lot of cable, with a substantial potential impact on Maine fishermen.

I fear NOAA is more a friend to the Green New Deal than to our fishermen, or even our whales. If NOAA determines the lobstering effort must be reduced, then what about the impact of wind turbines, anchor chains, electric cables, supply boats and cranes, etc., that will accompany the new industry? Wont all that traffic and construction add to the whale dangers? If NOAA has concerns, it is not telling us.

In 2019, at a fishermens rally in Stonington with hundreds present, Governor Mills, Sen. Collins, Rep. Pingree and others were reassuring all those present how they, the fishing families of Maine, would be protected in their ancestral vocation. Were these promises hollow?

Talk is cheap, and these wind turbines eat money for little return in actual power. In Europe, the North Sea turbines are aging, with increasing maintenance costs for these behemoth structures. This in turn consumes taxpayer money. If we make a similar decision to go ahead with these expensive engineering experiments, arent we just creating costs to consumers down the road?

Remember Texas last winter? Wind turbines were immobilized by a cold snap. In Maine, weather typically makes ice offshore for months each year. When these concrete and fiberglass structures fail (and they will), clean-up will be next to impossible. Of course, we can collect and bury the fiberglass, and then leave massive areas of tangled concrete and steel on the ocean floor. Future fishing in those areas will be impossible, not to mention the exposed re-rod presenting yet another danger to sea life, including the right whale!

I believe conservation and innovation have their place. Why would we endanger a proven fishing industry, supporting thousands of families and supplying fish to much of the country, for a technology that is proven to be costly and inefficient?

Republican Rep. Sherman H. Hutchins of Penobscot represents House District 131 (Dedham, Orland, Penobscot, Prospect, Stockton Springs and Verona Island) in the Maine Legislature.

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Offshore wind wont fish - The Ellsworth American