Category Archives: Offshore

Experts are warning that the challenge of connecting large amounts of offshore wind to an aging onshore grid may be much larger than initially realized.

Thats because offshore wind will need to grow very big, very fast to decarbonize the grid, they say.

The White House has given a big boost to the burgeoning sector with its pledge to facilitate putting 30 gigawatts of offshore wind in the water by 2030 as part of a broader plan to decarbonize the economy by midcentury.

To reach the 2050 target, however, offshore wind would need to swell to 300 GW on the East Coast alone, said Eric Hines, a civil and environmental engineering expert at Tufts University, during an offshore wind panel hosted by Resources for the Future last week.

Hines is not alone in his assessment. While the Biden administration was lauded by industry and activists for the ambitious 30-GW target which would be a 7,000 percent increase in offshore wind power from today many academics crunching numbers conclude that the level of emissions cuts called for by Biden would require a lot more power.

A Princeton University study last year estimated that the United States may need to triple its transmission to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, for example.

The current power grid took 150 years to build. Now, to get to net-zero emissions by 2050, we must build that amount of transmission again in the next 15 years and then build that much more again in the 15 years after that," said Princeton professor Jesse Jenkins, a co-author of the study, at the time of its release.

Currently, developers are paying for and building transmission project by project.

In Virginia, for instance, Dominion Energy is laying nine cables that are bundled at a central location and connecting to an existing substation for its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. For Vineyard Wind, a 35-mile cable will land at Barnstable, Mass., on Cape Cod.

Once we get beyond that first 30 GW, we are really going to have our hands tied as an industry, said Bill White, president of Avangrid Renewables, during the Resources for the Future panel. Avangrid has a 50 percent stake in Vineyard Wind, the first full-scale offshore wind farm approved for construction in the United States. It broke ground earlier this year.

Some regulators are looking beyond the developer-led transmission approach to regional planning.

New Jersey has offered one potential example, with the state planning to pay for transmission infrastructure to serve its expanding offshore wind sector. It is considering options such as a transmission backbone located offshore to serve multiple projects that would also guarantee a minimum number of cables landing on the states ecologically sensitive coastline.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has expressed support for New Jerseys approach and has been gathering input on how cost sharing across regions could be used to cover the transmission expansion needed for an offshore wind boom.

But an even greater level of planning and policy will be necessary, experts warn.

If we do not coordinate, we are going to be choked, said Hines.

He said the macrogrid idea envisioned in studies at the Department of Energy may finally come to fruition due to offshore wind.

A macrogrid or supergrid envisions a revamp of the countrys fragmented energy map to link the wealth of solar generation in the South, or wind generation in the Midwest, to demand centers.

Today, the Eastern and Western grids are separated by a seam with just seven interconnections with limited capacity. A modern grid would be able to fling large amounts of power across this great divide, a concept that has long intrigued electricity experts and was the subject of a DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory study this year (Energywire, Oct. 25).

Offshore wind faces similar problems of geography and distance.

The conversations were having now about the offshore grid dovetails very well with the conversations the Department of Energy has been having for over 20 years, Hines said.

Reaching a level of offshore wind development such as 300 GW would also take more water in terms of acreage.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has conducted eight competitive lease sales since 2013. Leasing for projects involves a multiyear process of analyzing the area for conflicts and coordinating with other ocean users like the U.S. military and with coastal states.

We will indeed need more capacity, said James Bennett, head of BOEMs renewable energy office, during the panel. He noted the potential future that lies in deep water off the Atlantic seaboard and in the Pacific.

BOEM has a record 14 offshore wind farms in development or recently approved from North Carolina to Massachusetts. It expects four more applications to come in over the next year.

Existing proposals are facing criticism, however, with communities in New Jersey, North Carolina and Maryland raising concerns about the impact of wind turbines.

Nantucket residents have filed a lawsuit over Vineyard Winds potential threat to the endangered North American right whale, with the support of a former adviser to President Trump, David Stevenson. Stevenson has said he would rally a fight against offshore wind down the East Coast.

But other communities have made peace with the industry, receiving big investments to go along with plans for having a high-power transmission line buried under their beaches.

In Massachusetts, where the nations first big offshore wind proposal, Cape Wind, once sank amid legal assaults, some residents have embraced the Vineyard Wind project. The burying of the Vineyard transmission cable will help the town of Barnstable overhaul its wastewater and sewage systems, some residents say (Climatewire, Nov. 19).

White of Avangrid noted that the wind industry has been at work locally for a long time in the United States. Vineyard Wind has held more than 600 community and public meetings, he said.

Its kind of unprecedented, the amount of engagement that we have had, he said.

Bennett from BOEM said that once the industry starts producing power, it will be easier for the public to understand what it is, and to see its benefits.

He said: The most effective communication is steel in the water.

This story also appears in Climatewire.

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Offshore wind grid woes may be worse than previously thought - E&E News

British utility SSEand Norwegian energy giant Equinorannounced late last week that they have secured financing to proceed with the construction of the $3.98 billion Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm off Englands northeast coast.

Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm, along with Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B, is due to become the largest offshore wind farm in the world upon completion, with an installed capacity of 3.6 gigawatts (GW). Each phase is 1.2 GW.

Dogger Bank C will generate around 6,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity a year when completed in 2026.

According to SSE and Equinor, Dogger Bank will generate enough clean energy to supply 5% of the UKs electricity needs, equivalent to 6 million homes.

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GE Renewable Energy will provide 87 units of the enormous Haliade-X 14 MW wind turbines for Dogger Bank C. As Electrek previously reported, According to GE, one turbine can generate up to 74 GWh of gross annual energy production, saving up to 52,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide the equivalent of the emissions from 11,000 vehicles in one year.

Construction of Dogger Bank A and B is currently under way. As of December 3, three-quarters of the 80 miles of underground ducts and one-third of underground high-voltage cables land-based infrastructure have been installed. They will connect A and B to the UKs National Grid.

James Lockwood, project manager at Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK, the company that is installing the land-based infrastructure, said:

We have made excellent progress while the weather has been with us, and as such have installed a significant amount of cable.

The cable itself runs across two routes: a DC route which goes from the connection point with offshore cables to the converter station, and a shorter AC route, which then runs from the converter station to National Grid infrastructure.

Additionally, we have been able to start some works restoring parts of the site, a process which includes sowing a mix of specially selected cover crops that will help maintain the nutrient levels in the soil in preparation of the final reinstatements work due to carried out next year.

Once better weather returns in the spring, well be back under way with high voltage duct and cable installation, working towards a final site handover in June 2023.

Photo: GE

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Phase 3 of the worlds largest offshore wind farm moves forward - electrek.co

Rebecca Hennes,Staff writer

Dec. 6, 2021Updated: Dec. 6, 2021 3:14p.m.

Frank Marinic's 34 ft. white fishing vessel, Mar Boa, was found abandoned near the Claypile Bank 90 miles offshore Galveston

Authorities are searching for a 94-year-old man who was reported missing during a fishing trip in Galveston.

Frank Marinic was last seen on November 30 before heading out on a fishing expedition in Galveston, according to a release from the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston. While searching for Marinic, authorities located his 34 ft. white fishing vessel, Mar Boa, near the Claypile Bank 90 miles offshore Galveston. A rescue swimmer verified that there was no one on the vessel.

LAKEWOOD MYSTERY: $600K theft from Lakewood Church went cold for 7 years. Now, a radio caller reveals he found it in bathroom wall

Anyone with any information that can help the search should contact the Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston Command Center at 281-464-4851.

Rebecca Hennes is the metro web producer for the Houston Chronicle.

Rebecca is responsible for writing content, managing the homepage, packaging stories, assisting with social media and newsletter efforts.

A Houston native, Rebecca graduated from the University of Houston Honors College in 2016 with a bachelor's in print journalism and later joined the Chronicle in 2018.

When she is not writing about dogs or animal welfare, she covers anything Houston-related, including crime, entertainment, education and politics. She can be reached by email at Rebecca.Hennes@chron.com or by Twitter: @beccaghennes

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Boat of missing 94-year-old fisherman found abandoned 90 miles offshore from Galveston - Houston Chronicle

OX2 has submitted a permit application under the Act on Swedens Exclusive Economic Zone to construct an offshore wind farm in the Swedish economic zone off the coast of Falkenberg and Varberg.

The wind farm is called Galatea-Galene and is divided into two sub-areas.

Galatea is located about 25 kilometres off Falkenberg and Galene about 25 kilometres off Varberg. The wind farm will comprise up to 101 wind turbines, with a maximum height of 340 metres.

OX2 has previously applied for a separate Natura 2000 permit for the offshore wind farm.

The planned production of electricity from the wind farm amounts to about 6-7 TWh per year, which corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of about 1.2 million households, or a quarter of the households in Sweden, the Swedish developer said.

The application is for permission to erect wind turbines, transformer stations and measuring masts, and is being assessed by the government.

We have now arrived at the next phase and are looking forward to the next steps. Galatea-Galene would bring a significant amount of new Swedish renewable electricity to southern Sweden. The project is important for industry, business, households and the labour market. And it will also contribute to achieving Swedens ambitious environmental goals, said Hillevi Priscar, Country Manager for OX2 in Sweden.

The project is part of OX2s Swedish project development portfolio, which at the end of the third quarter amounted to 11.1 GW.

Originally posted here:

101-Wind Turbine Project Offshore Sweden Reaches Next Phase | Offshore Wind - Offshore WIND

In this article:

We have seen offshore wind turbines beyond 15 MW being launched this year, new technologies introduced, and multiple wind turbine reuse and recycling initiatives kick-started. And while some OEMs have announced upcoming upgrades to their portfolio that evoke excitement similar to that around novel features on some Android smartphones, Siemens Gamesa seems to have an Apple-like approach and makes incremental step-ups with its existing technology. Still not missing a beat in the ever-evolving market, though.

As MingYang Smart Energy, the first Chinese supplier to deliver offshore wind turbines for a European project, recently launched a 16 MW model only a year after announcing it would have a 11 MW prototype installed in 2021 and the turbine market-ready in 2022 Siemens Gamesa is power-boosting its now installed 14 MW prototype to an output of 15 MW and is planning to roll out a 236-metre-rotor version of the same platform.

According to the Head of Product Portfolio Management at the German-Spanish wind turbine manufacturer, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in China last month to license its 11 MW offshore technology in the country, it is not unusual for the Chinese market to be marketing products at a much earlier stage.

While we are, for example, well underway with the development of the new model with the 236-metre rotor and we announced it only recently, in China it is more typical to see products marketed closer to the start of design stage, Jan Villum Kristiansen, Head of Product Portfolio Management at Siemens Gamesa, told OffshoreWIND.biz during an interview at WindEuropes Electric City 2021.

What differs MingYangs upcoming 11 MW from Siemens Gamesas existing 11 MW now launched on the same market is that MingYangs technology utilises hybrid drive while Siemens Gamesa has placed its bet on a direct drive platform years ago and reaffirmed it in a strategy premised on one segment, one technology in 2017.

Whats Under the Price Tag?

With hybrid drive technology being less pricey and therefore a possible go-to for developers with offshore wind cost reductions in mind, Siemens Gamesa has made a case for its Direct Drive (DD) by promoting its low maintenance and more room for scaling up that does not require an experimental approach.

A generator for a direct drive turbine itself is more expensive compared to a hybrid generator, seen as single component. However, scalability, system integration and upgrades are easier, and there are fewer components, as example: failure rate in gearboxes is zero with direct drive, Kristiansen said.

The business case behind using direct drive wind turbines comes down to where costs will lie and how OPEX is assumed, including servicing, maintenance, and gearbox exchange.

As the inevitable question of when a bigger turbine will be launched looms, now that there is a 15 MW direct drive model set to go through a demonstration stage, the increase in the rotor size on the same platform from 222 metres to 236 metres is what draws attention, especially since the rated capacity stays the same while some OEMs are announcing upping the capacity beyond 15 MW.

Here, Siemens Gamesa seems to have once again opted for solidifying its position before making a jump towards bigger nameplate capacity, which the market is undoubtedly expecting and, based on the developments so far, Siemens Gamesa will not fall back with.

Speaking about the difference the 236-metre rotor brings to the 14 MW wind turbine, Kristiansen pointed to the much higher yield of the new model that has a considerable larger swept area, but also the advantage of staying on the same platform with no additional changes to the drivetrain.

While the model with the larger rotor is also more expensive, it ultimately brings a more cost-effective solution, especially in areas with low wind conditions, according to Kristiansen.

The power curve in some low wind conditions is such that a turbines full power is not being utilised, and a larger rotor allows for longer production at higher power compared to a smaller rotor. Therefore, the combined output that a turbine with the same rating has with a larger rotor brings higher energy production, Jan Villum Kristiansen said.

The new model, which has already been preferred by Vattenfall for its 3.6 GW Norfolk wind farms in the UK, is scheduled for prototype demonstration in 2022 with commercial launch in 2024 and will feature 115-metre blades as well as working on an option to deliver RecyclableBlades.

Recyclability Is One More Safe Bet. For Developers.

Being the first to announce a fully recyclable wind turbine by 2040 and to produce recyclable blades, Siemens Gamesa is a frontrunner in what the industry is looking to achieve as soon as possible, according to Jonas Pagh Jensen, the companys Sustainability Programme Manager.

RWE, EDF, wpd, and now Vattenfall have already lined up to use the new blades and, apparently, for a good business reason if they want an advantage in future tenders.

We drafted the concept five years ago and then identified a supplier that could help us develop it and, as we moved forward, we could see how the society was increasingly moving towards more sustainable solutions. Now we also see commercial auctions setting requirements for recyclability, so we believe our recyclable blades fit perfectly with the development also happening on the commercial side, said Jonas Pagh Jensen.

Right now, the recyclable blade comes with an increased price since it is new to the market.

For developers, there is an upfront investment which is said to level out at the end of the lifecycle as the blades will be significantly less costly as they hit the decommissioning stage.

The materials that you separate will have value so you will get reimbursed for the materials. The decommissioning and recycling process are less complicated, so this part is also cheaper. In addition, it covers for the otherwise unknown costs that could emerge from regulatory moves on waste, which could increase over time, said Jonas Pagh Jensen.

As developers currently have the option to choose between the standard and the recyclable blade, and several of them have signed up for the sustainable solution, it is a reflection of what they believe is the right thing to incorporate in the projects they are now working on, according to Jensen.

We have developed the solution because we think that is what the market needs, but the market players of course decide for themselves. We have done our market consultancy, but it is a choice that customers make and a reflection of what they believe is the right thing for the project they are working on.

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The Safe Bets of Siemens Gamesa | Offshore Wind - Offshore WIND

PGS will use a Ramform-class vessel for the survey works. In picture, Ramform Atlas vessel. Credit: PGS.

PGS has secured a contract from Petrobras to conduct a 4D seismic acquisition survey over two Brazilian offshore fields.

The contract will involve surveying the Roncador and Albacora Leste fields, both located in the Campos basin.

The survey is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2022 and is expected to be completed by the third quarter of the same year.

A Ramform-class vessel will be used for the survey works.

PGS president and CEO Rune Olav Pedersen said: We are very pleased to provide this significant 4D survey for Petrobras in the prolific Campos basin. We have acquired several 4D surveys offshore Brazil and gained significant operational experience.

We appreciate Petrobras recognition of our Ramform-vessel acquisition platform and our GeoStreamer technology, which are well suited for large, high-quality 4D acquisition programmes.

Headquartered in Norway, PGS, along with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated marine geophysics company supporting oil and gas, offshore renewables, carbon capture, and storage operations. It has offices in 14 countries.

Last month, Petrobras announced plans to invest $68bn to boost oil production in the subsea pre-salt area. The Brazilian state-owned firm will make this investment over the five-year period from 2022 to 2026.

This represents a significant increase from the previously announced investment of $55bn for the 2020-2025 period.

Recently, Petrobras awarded a subsea contract to Saipem for the Bzios 7 project offshore Brazil. The contract has a value of approximately $940m.

Offshore Cranes / Gangways & Services

Specialists in Modeling Analysis and Simulation of Dynamic Systems

Offshore Communication Networks

28 Aug 2020

Offshore Cranes / Gangways & Services

28 Aug 2020

Specialists in Modeling Analysis and Simulation of Dynamic Systems

28 Aug 2020

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PGS to conduct 4D survey of Brazilian offshore fields - Offshore Technology

A Loblaw logo is seen outside a grocery store in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo

Register

OTTAWA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Canadian grocery retailer Loblaw Companies Ltd (L.TO) does not have to pay tax on income earned by an offshore subsidiary, the country's Supreme Court said on Friday, a decision that could have implications for other companies.

The case revolved around a Barbados-based bank linked to the company. Loblaw successfully argued the bank was foreign-regulated and largely doing business with other entities, and its income should therefore not be taxed in Canada.

Government lawyers said if they lost the case, it could endanger the collection of more than C$1 billion ($782 million) in taxes a year, given that other companies were eyeing similar arrangements. Ottawa argued the bank was a controlled foreign affiliate of Loblaw which should pay tax on its income.

Register

But Canadian tax law allows an exception for offshore subsidiaries which are foreign banks, are regulated by foreign law, employ more than five people and have an arm's length relationship with the parent company.

Loblaw "was entitled to rely on the financial institution exception," the court ruled.

Loblaw wound down the bank in 2013 and had already recorded a C$367 million charge to cover costs had it lost the ruling.

($1 = 1.2794 Canadian dollars)

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Reporting by David LjunggrenEditing by Paul Simao

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Canadian grocery retailer Loblaw wins offshore tax case in top court - Reuters

The Dutch State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Dilan Yeilgz-Zegerius, has announced the start of spatial planning procedures for cable routes that would connect more than 10 GW of the countrys planned additional offshore wind capacity to the national grid.

In a letter sent the House of Representatives on 2 December, State Secretary Yeilgz-Zegerius informed the government of commencing investigations of grid connection routes for further 10.7 GW of installed offshore wind capacity the country plans to add by 2030, nearly twice the previously planned target.

Last month, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management issued an Additional Draft North Sea Programme 2022 2027 which increases the Dutch target from the current 11.5 GW to 22.2 GW of operating offshore wind capacity by 2030 by proposing to develop additional 10.7 GW in order to meet the EUs current goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 compared to the 1990 levels.

According to the Additional Draft, the new offshore wind capacity would be developed within the newly designated, as well as the existing zones. The newly designated zones 1,2, and 5-East would accommodate 8 GW of offshore wind capacity, the IJmuiden Ver North 2 GW, and the remaining 700 MW zone was identified within the southern part of Hollandse Kust (west) area.

The procedure for a cable connection through the Wadden Sea, which will be included in the new spatial programme, has already started.Options for a cable from the already planned wind energy area to the north of the Wadden Islands are examined in conjunction with a cable route for the new 5-East wind energy area. The current plan is for both routes to end up in Eemshaven.The route options located more to the east in the Wadden Sea will also be further investigated.

In addition, the government is examining whether there is still room after 2031 for a possible extra cable and a pipeline to transport hydrogen produced offshore to Eemshaven.

Based on potential challenges that could emerge following route investigations and consultations, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy has decided to survey potential cable routes for 12 GW of capacity, in case some will not be identified as feasible.

Spatial procedures are thus starting for:

The Dutch government expects to have realised the two connections to Maasvlakte and the connection to Borssele by 2030, at the latest, while the other 6 GW of connections, one link to Geertruidenberg and two to Eemshaven, have some technological and environmental challenges with 4 GW likely to be realised by the end of 2031.

Originally posted here:

Netherlands Starts Work on Enabling Further 10 GW of Offshore Wind by 2030 - Offshore WIND

China is the worlds biggest polluter and its also the worlds leader in clean energy growth. Chinas installed offshore wind capacity has now reached 302.2 gigawatts (GW), according to Windpower Intelligence (WPI), the data and research division of Windpower Monthly.

This is because developers in China are working to bring offshore wind online before feed-in tariffs expire at the end of 2021.

Windpower Monthly reports:

Of the projects WPI registered in November as newly coming online, eight of the worlds 11 largest were in Chinese waters. The eight Chinese offshore wind farms saw a combined capacity of 2.7GW added to the countrys total capacity.

WPIsglobal forecastsees Chinas installed wind capacity reaching 485GW by 2027 split into 446.7GW onshore and 38.5GW offshore.

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China is expected to install 1,200 GW of total wind and solar capacity by 2026, according to a new report released this week from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Thats four years earlier than the countrys current target of 2030.

According to the IEA, this is the result of the availability of long-term contracts, improved grid integration, and the cost competitiveness of onshore wind and solar PV compared with coal generation in many provinces.

If you find yourself wondering how the USs offshore wind growth projection compares with Chinas already booming offshore wind industry, Anthony Allard, executive vice president, head of North America, Hitachi Energy, told Electrek by email:

Over the next five to 10 years, the offshore wind industry will make a major contribution to transforming the way the US gets its power, with the federal governmenttargeting more than 30GW built in US waters by 2030.

Well also see greater recognition of the importance of HVDC technology as a facilitator of offshore wind projects, through its capability to connect larger wind farms further away from shore with onshore grids.

Read more: 2021 will be an all-time, record-breaking year for clean energy installations

Photo: DONG HAI OFFSHORE WINDFARMbyTheClimateGroupis licensed underCC BY-NC-SA 2.0

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Chinas offshore wind growth soars with more than 300GW installed - Electrek

PublishedDec 6, 2021 10:58 AM by The Maritime Executive

[By: ABS]

Four Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs) are to be built to ABS Class by Blount Boats for American Offshore Services (AOS) to serve wind farms on the U.S. East Coast.

The 30-meter-long, Jones Act-compliant CTVs will be delivered in 2023 and 2024.

American Bureau of Shipping is assisting the local content supply chain development of offshore wind here in the U.S. with support for the vessels, such as these, that will be critical to establishing the industry. In addition, we are proud to add these CTVs to that list in supporting the clean energy transition and look forward to seeing them in operation on the East Coast, said Greg Lennon, ABS Vice President, Global Offshore Wind.

"AOS is a shining example of how U.S. contractors can work in partnership to rapidly advance our local industry, says James Clouse, Managing Director and co-founder of AOS. "We are realizing our dream of moving America's offshore wind industry forward and doing it with partnerships built on shared vision and values."

"We are excited to build this next generation of CTVs for AOS," said Marcia Blount, Blount Boat President. "A hybrid-ready CTV is a fitting addition to the new and growing offshore wind industry in the United States, and we are proud to be a part of it in such a vital way."

The vessels are just the latest assets designed specifically for U.S. offshore wind operations to be built to ABS Class. Charybdis, the first Jones Act-compliant Wind Turbine Installation Vessel is now under construction to ABS Class. The first U.S flagged Jones Act offshore wind farm service operation vessel ever ordered will be built to ABS Class.

The products and services herein described in this press release are not endorsed by The Maritime Executive.

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Four Jones Act CTVs Built to ABS Class to Support US Offshore Wind - The Maritime Executive