Category Archives: Offshore

The UKs Offshore Wind Sector Deal has a commitment to grow UK content of offshore wind to 60 per cent.

A new Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council report has set a clear baseline on Scottish content levels, as well as giving industry and government recommendations on a roadmap to increase the amount of work Scottish and UK businesses win from the sector.

Modelling in the report, by BVG Associates, highlights that while Scottish content in Scottish projects is 44 per cent today, Scottish-based companies have been less successful at supplying into wind farms elsewhere in the UK. For non-Scottish UK projects, Scottish content is less than one per cent.

The UKs Offshore Wind Sector Deal, agreed between the UK Government and the offshore wind sector, has a commitment to grow UK content of offshore wind to 60 per cent. To deliver this 60 per cent UK content will require significant investment. The report recommends a strategy focused on manufacturing rather than installation, and identifies towers, blades, and floating offshore wind platforms as the most promising inward investment opportunities for Scotland.

The report also highlights that future floating offshore wind projects are likely to deliver higher levels of UK and Scottish content than fixed offshore wind projects, due to the increased likelihood of platform manufacture in Scotland, the opportunity to supply mooring systems from Scotland and because more of the turbine installation work is undertaken onshore, meaning that existing expertise from the onshore market can be used.

The report estimates that 15 new manufacturing facilities would be needed to deliver 60 per cent UK content, six of which could be in Scotland. However, it also highlights that there are no compelling reasons for suppliers to choose to manufacture in Scotland compared to other UK locations.

Alongside this report, today SOWEC is also releasing a Stakeholder Map of organisations involved in offshore wind. The aim of this map is to provide information to help businesses understand who the stakeholders are and how they fit together, helping businesses know who to engage with, what for, and when.

SOWEC industry co-chair Brian McFarlane said: For the first time, we have a baseline to grow from. SOWEC is committed to growing Scottish jobs from offshore wind, so knowing where we are starting from and having a clear route map is vital. This report, alongside the recent Scottish Infrastructure Assessment, will help SOWEC to prioritise actions to grow jobs in Scotland from offshore wind.

Neil Douglas, director of BVG Associates, said: ScotWind and other upcoming leasing rounds represent a huge opportunity for the Scottish supply chain. These leasing rounds can provide a catalyst for Scotland to grow an industry to meet local and global needs.

"Increasing the local share of offshore wind projects will deliver economic, social and environmental benefits for Scotland. More local content will also increase offshore wind's appeal to investors, governments and citizens. Having worked with the Scottish supply chain for over a decade, we are delighted to support SOWEC to help make the most of these opportunities.

Latest Crown Estate offshore wind lease to help decarbonise oil and gas sector

Excerpt from:

Report sets out roadmap of opportunities from Scotland's offshore wind sector - RossShire Journal

File photo: Offshore wind turbines

Last month, the Murphy administration scrapped a scheduled formal request for companies to bid on building more wind farms off the Jersey coast a sign viewed by some as proof the state is well on its way to building 7,500 megawatts of wind capacity by 2035.

By virtue of awarding two new projects totaling 2,658 MW of offshore wind capacity at the end of June, the state, on paper, is more than halfway to reaching that ambitious target when the first 1,100 MW of capacity awarded in 2019 is included.

More importantly, the growth could enhance New Jerseys overall goal of becoming a hub for the emerging offshore wind sector, an industry that could generate billions of dollars in economic impact and create thousands of jobs for years to come, according to officials.

What remained of Hurricane Ida flooded wide areas of north Jersey, and more than a half-dozen tornadoes leveled homes in South Jersey. That storm, and others this summer, are believed by many to be a reflection of the changing climate. And that has renewed questions of whether the state is doing enough to transition to 100% clean energy by mid-century.

I think hes spot on, said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, a group that called for meeting the states 100% clean-energy goals by 2035 in a report issued last month. This is an opportunity for our elected officials to meet the challenge.

This storm is another wake-up call, Potosnak said, citing the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which warned that some of the worst impacts of climate change are already inevitable higher temperatures, more intense storms and rising sea levels. Climate change is accelerating.

By some measures, the offshore industry is thriving. The 2021 edition of the Offshore Wind Market Report, prepared by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, found that the pipeline for offshore wind-energy projects grew to 35,324 MW, a 24% increase over the previous year.

Most of the growth in the U.S. pipeline occurred with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Interior, creating five new wind-energy areas in the New York Bight that total 9,800 MW of capacity.

Other clean-energy advocates agree the state should look to expand its offshore wind goals, but focus on building out its solicitation schedule in the next five years. New Jersey has held two solicitations so far, the latest raising expected wind capacity to 3,758 MW when those projects are expected to come online.

The first project by rsteds Ocean Wind 1,100-MW facility is supposed to be operational by the end of 2024 or early 2025. The latest projects include Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, a 1,510-MW wind farm, a joint venture of EDF Renewables and Shell New Energies LLC; and a second Ocean Wind project, a 1,148-MW facility by rsted.

Earlier this summer, the state Board of Public Utilities adopted a revised solicitation schedule, eliminating a scheduled solicitation with the award of a project in the first quarter of 2029. That leaves the agency with three more solicitations in 2023, 2025 and 2027.

The BPU plans to continue to evaluate each solicitation as it relates to the evolving market. A number of factors could influence the timing and how much capacity will be awarded in future solicitations, according to the agency. Those include transmission solutions, status of lease areas, permitting, establishment of a supply chain, workforce training and cost trends.

To date, there has not been widespread opposition to the states aggressive approach to offshore wind, but some segments have expressed concerns, including its impact on the states lucrative fishing industry and its costs.

What weve seen in the last three years, the BPU is expanding our goals, OMalley said. In the latest solicitation, its original target was 1,200 MW but was expanded to 2,400 MW, which was eventually exceeded in the award.

Kris Ohleth, executive director for the Special Initiative for Offshore Wind, however, thinks the drawn-out solicitation schedule works to New Jerseys advantage. New Jersey has a process thats a model, she said. In a way, it is best to have a measured approach.

See the original post:

Offshore wind nears halfway mark in NJ - NJ Spotlight

Monday, September 6, 2021

The Indian government operationalized the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) as Indias first International Finances Services Centre (IFSC). Since then several measures have been undertaken to incentivize overseas financial institutions and overseas branches/subsidiaries of Indian financial institutions to bring to Indian shores those financial services transactions that are currently carried on outside India. While the IFSC is technically located on Indian soil, it is considered an offshore jurisdiction for foreign exchange purposes, allowing investors to invest in businesses located within the IFSC without having to comply with Indias foreign exchange regime. Special tax incentives have also been provided to units located within the IFSC to further incentivize offshore investment and bring the IFSC at GIFT City on par with IFSCs globally. Several fund managers are exploring GIFT City to establish alternative investment funds (AIFs).1

The International Financial Services Authority (IFSCA) has been established as a single-window clearance body to regulate all financial services and products in the GIFT City.2Prior to the establishment of the IFSCA, the SEBI (International Financial Services Center) Guidelines, 2015 (2015 Guidelines) and the Operating Guidelines for Alternative Investment Funds in International Financial Services Centres3(Operating Guidelines) provided a broad framework for setting up AIFs in an IFSC (IFSC AIF). The IFSCA has been making structured efforts to boost global investments in the GIFT City and to make the IFSC a global financial hub at par with other IFSCs in the world. To boost the establishment of IFSC AIFs, the IFSCA released a circular providing benefits with respect to leveraging activities, co-investment opportunities, and a relaxation of diversification norms for IFSC AIFs.4The desire of the IFSCA to form regulations that are intended to quickly bring the funds set up in IFSC at par with offshore funds is an important consideration for both foreign and Indian GPs while deciding on the jurisdiction of the fund.

While the 2015 Guidelines and Operating Guidelines provided a framework for setting up of IFSC AIFs, there was no regulatory or taxation framework facilitating the relocation of offshore funds to GIFT City. SEBI released a circular (2021 Circular) allowing one-time off-market transfer of securities by a Foreign Portfolio Investor to the IFSC.5This 2021 Circular will allow relocation of foreign funds (set-up as FPIs) to set up Category-III AIFs in IFSC. Subsequently, the IFSCA released a circular providing that the requirement of continuing interest by the manager or sponsor-provided in the Operating Guidelines shall be voluntary in case of relocation of offshore funds to IFSC.6Alongside these regulatory changes, various changes have been brought to the tax regime to facilitate the relocation of offshore funds to the GIFT City in a tax-neutral manner.

The Finance Act, 2021 amended several provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (ITA) to facilitate the relocation of offshore funds to the IFSC in a tax-neutral manner both for the offshore fund as well as investors. Such provisions are applicable where the assets of the original fund are relocated to a resultant fund in GIFT City. For this purpose, the ITA defines the term original fund, relocation and resultant fund as under:

Original fund:7Original fund means a fund establish outside India which collects funds from its members for investing such funds for their benefit and fulfills the following conditions:

(i) the fund is not a person resident in India;

(ii) the fund is a resident of a country with which India has a tax treaty;

(iii) the fund and its activities are subject to applicable investor protection regulations in the country where it is established or incorporated; and

(iv) fulfills such other conditions as may be prescribed8

Resultant fund:9Resultant fund means a fund established or incorporated in India in the form of a trust or a company or a limited liability partnership, which:

(i) has been granted a certificate of registration as a Category I or Category II or Category III AIF and is regulated by SEBI or IFSCA; and

(ii) is located in IFSC

Relocation:10Relocation means a transfer of assets of the original fund, or of its wholly-owned special purpose vehicle, to a resultant fund on or before March 31, 2023, where consideration for such transfer is discharged in the form of share or unit or interest in the resulting fund to:

(i) shareholder or unitholder or interest holder of the original fund in the same proportion in which the share or unit or interest was held by such shareholder or unitholder or interest holder in such original fund, in lieu of their shares or units or interests in original fund; or

(ii) The original fund, in the same proportion as referred in sub-clause (i), in respect of which share or unit or interest is not issued by the resultant fund to its shareholder or unitholder or interest holder.

Essentially, relocation will encompass the transfer of assets of an offshore fund (say in Mauritius or Delaware) to an IFSC AIF the consideration of which would be discharged by way of a swap. The swap will include proportionate issuance of units by the IFSC AIF to either the unitholders of the offshore fund in lieu of units held in the offshore fund or to the offshore fund (in the case where share or unit or interest is not issued by IFSC AIF to shareholder or unitholder or interest holder of the offshore fund).

The diagram below depicts a typical relocation transaction:

Pursuant to the Finance Act, 2021, the ITA has also been amended to provide the following provisions for ensuring tax neutrality of relocation:

Exemption from capital gains tax on capital gains arising from transfer of capital asset in a relocation by the offshore fund to the IFSC AIF.11This provision essentially seeks to exempt capital gains tax arising on transfer of shares of Indian companies and other Indian securities held by an offshore fund to an IFSC AIF. The ITA levies capital gains tax on gains arising on transfer of shares or securities of an Indian company. In absence of this exemption transfer of shares or securities of an Indian company by an offshore fund to IFSC AIF pursuant to relocation would have been subject to tax in India;

Exemption from capital gains tax on capital gains arising from transfer by a shareholder/unitholder, in a relocation, of capital asset being share/unit held by him in the offshore fund in consideration for share/unit in the resultant fund.12This provision seeks to exempt the transfer at the shareholder level from capital gains tax on account of indirect transfer provisions;

Exemption from capital gains tax on capital gain income arising or received by a non-resident investor or a specified fund, on account of transfer of shares of an Indian company by the IFSC AIF or specified fund which were acquired by the IFSC AIF or specified fund pursuant to relocation and where the capital gains on such shares were not been chargeable to tax, had the relocation not taken place.13This provision seeks to protect grandfathered investments of the offshore fund. It ensures that the outcome for the non-resident investor remains the same whether the exit from Indian company takes place by the offshore fund or the IFSC AIF;

Cost of acquisition of shares of an Indian company acquired by the IFSC AIF upon the relocation is deemed to be the cost of the previous owner i.e. cost base of shares of Indian company in hands of the offshore fund is available to IFSC AIF;14

Cost of acquisition of units of the IFSC AIF acquired by the unitholders on the relocation of the offshore fund is deemed to be the cost of the previous owner;15

The period of holding of shares of an Indian company acquired by the IFSC AIF upon the relocation is deemed to include the period for which the shares of the Indian company were held by the offshore fund;16

The period of holding of units of IFSC AIF acquired by the unitholders upon the relocation is deemed to include the period for which such unitholders held the units of the offshore fund;17

Section 79 has also been amended to allow the Indian company the benefit of set-off and carry forward of loss to the extent the change in shareholding has taken place on account of relocation;

Lastly, corresponding changes have also been made to the provisions of Section 56(2)(x) to ensure that the IFSC AIF or the unitholders of the offshore fund are not subject to tax on account of the swap transaction.

The above provisions ensure that no adverse tax consequences arise on either the investors of the offshore fund or the offshore fund on account of the relocation of the offshore fund to IFSC.

The changes brought by the ISFCA and the Finance Act, 2021 display the commitment of the Indian Government in promoting the IFSC as a global financial hub. The amendments to the regulatory and taxation framework facilitating the relocation of offshore funds to GIFT City coupled with the existing relaxations of IFSC AIFs are likely to boost the fund industry in the GIFT City. While the tax provisions permit the IFSC AIF to issue units to investors directly on relocation, the permissibility of this will have to be examined in accordance with the provisions of the jurisdiction where the offshore fund is set up. For example, corporate laws of the jurisdiction where the offshore fund is set up will have to be checked to examine whether the unitholders of the offshore fund (and not the offshore fund itself) can directly be issued units of the IFSC AIF. In case this is not possible, the distribution of units of IFSC AIF to original investors will also need to be examined from a tax perspective

As mentioned above, the provisions of the ITA seek to protect grandfathered investments of an offshore fund such that the non-resident investors are not subject to tax in India merely due to the relocation of an offshore fund to GIFT City. However, such exemption is available wherethe capital gains on such shares were not been chargeable to tax had the relocation not taken.In this regard, determination of whether capital gains on such shares were chargeable to tax had the relocation not taken place will be key. In the case where an offshore fund decides to relocate to GIFT City, it is likely for the offshore fund to be wound up post such relocation. Historically, capital gains on the transfer of shares of an Indian company by Mauritius / Singapore-based funds have been exempt from tax in India under the relevant tax treaties. However, the exemption is subject to the availability of tax residency certificate in the year of transfer, demonstration of appropriate substance at the offshore fund level, etc. Therefore, in order to ensure that the grandfathered investments are protected upon relocation of the offshore fund to GIFT City, it will be essential to ensure that these conditions are satisfied.

Relocation of offshore funds to GIFT City should be seriously explored by India-centric offshore funds with Indian GPs. Relocation to GIFT City should enable Indian GPs to effectively manage the fund from GIFT City and mitigate potential permanent establishment and place of effective management issues which are otherwise present in the case of offshore funds. Due to other incentives provided to units set up in IFSC under the ITA (like tax holiday, reduced minimum alternate tax rate), innovative structures may be considered for carrying structuring for Indian GPs from GIFT City. Given that entities set up in GIFT City are considered to be residents from a tax perspective, payment by the investment manager to an Indian advisor may not be subject to transfer pricing rules which reduces litigation risk on pay-outs. Ongoing compliances and onboarding of investors to an offshore fund are typically a pain point for Indian GPs. This may be easier in the case of an IFSC AIF thereby reducing timelines for fundraising. Setting up and operating funds from GIFT City may be more cost-effective for the GPs.

Apart from the above, the relocated offshore fund should be able to undertake leverage without any restrictions, investment in domestic AIFs, invest in offshore companies without any approval just like an offshore fund. The IFSC AIF will also have the ability to co-invest through the creation of a segregated portfolio. It will be relevant to note that pursuant to the relocation of an offshore fund to GIFT City, the IFSC AIF will be managed by an investment manager in GIFT City. In this regard, it will be important for Indian GPs to assess the manner of setting up of the investment manager in GIFT City prior to taking a decision of relocation of the offshore fund.

From an investors perspective also, relocation of an offshore fund to GIFT City should not have any adverse impact. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has relaxed the requirement to obtain a Permanent Account Number (PAN) for non-resident investors investing in the units of the IFSC AIF subject to satisfaction of certain conditions.18The CBDT has also exempted non-residents having income chargeable under the ITA from any investment in IFSC AIF (Category-I / Category-II) from filing of income-tax return in India. However, such exemption is available only if tax has been appropriately deducted and deposited to the government by the IFSC AIF as per provisions of the ITA.19Given the above, relocation of offshore funds would definitely be worth exploring. Having said this, given the increased interest of GPs and LPs in GIFT City, probably the next step for CBDT and Reserve Bank of India would also be to allow domestic AIFs to relocate to GIFT City.

1BW Online Bureau. (2021, June 16). AIF Activity Picks Up Steam In IFSC At GIFT City; Half Dozen Entities Apply To Set Up Shops.Business World. Can be accessed at:https://www.businessworld.in/article/AIF-Activity-Picks-Up-Steam-In-IFSC-At-GIFT-City-Half-Dozen-Entities-Apply-To-Set-Up-Shops/16-06-2021-393356/

2IFSCA has been established under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019 (https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/214809.pdf). It is empowered to exercise the power of various counterpart regulatory bodies in India such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Reserve Bank of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India

3SEBI/HO/IMD/DF1/CIR/P/143/2018 dated November 26, 2018

4F. No. 81/IFSCA/AIFs/2020-21 dated December 09, 2020; Please refer ourhotlinefor the detailed analysis of the aforementioned circular

5SEBI circular no. SEBI/HO/FPI&C/P/CIR/2021/0569 dated June 01, 2021

6Circular No. 81/IFSCA/AIFs/2020-21/03 dated June 25, 2021

7Explanation to clause (viiac) and clause (viiad) of section 47

8No such conditions have been prescribed as of the date of this hotline

9Explanation to clause (viiac) and clause (viiad) of section 47

10Explanation to clause (viiac) and clause (viiad) of section 47

11Section 47(viiac)

12Section 47(viiiad)

13Section 10(23FF)

14Section 49(1)(iii)(e)

15ibid

16Section 2(42A)(b)

17Section 2(42A)(b)

18CBDT Notification No. 58/2020/F. No. 370133/08/2020-TPL dated August 10, 2020

19Notification S.O. 2672(E) dated July 26, 2019

Nishith Desai Associates 2021. All rights reserved.National Law Review, Volume XI, Number 249

Excerpt from:

Offshore Funds Relocation to The Gift City - The National Law Review

Offshore staff

LONDON Trinidad and Tobago is expected to contribute about 25% (820 MMcf/d) of the Americas natural gas production in 2025 from planned and announced projects (excluding the US L48), according to GlobalData.

The companys report, Americas Oil and Gas Upstream Development Outlook to 2025, reveals that 514 MMcf/d of natural gas production in Trinidad and Tobago in 2025 is expected from planned projects with identified development plans, while 306 MMcf/d is expected from early-stage announced projects that are undergoing conceptual studies and are likely to be approved.

Of the seven natural gas projects expected to start operations in Trinidad and Tobago during 2021-2025, Colibri and Matapal could collectively contribute around 58% of the countrys gas production in 2025.

Svetlana Doh, Oil & Gas Analyst at GlobalData, said: Despite quite a positive outlook for the countrys production in the near term, GlobalData projects that natural gas output in Trinidad and Tobago will start declining after 2024. Since most of the developed and undeveloped shallow-water blocks are already licensed, more aggressive exploration work needs to be conducted regarding deepwater acreage.

The country offered some deepwater blocks in the 2020 deepwater competitive bid round, but the round was delayed until 2021. Further delays could be expected due to the sudden death of Trinidad and Tobagos energy minister in April 2021.

The analyst sees the US as the second highest country in the Americas with 608 MMcf/d of natural gas production in 2025 or about 18% of the total Americas natural gas production that year. Brazil follows with 538 MMcf/d from planned and announced projects in 2025.

Among companies, bp, China National Petroleum, and Petrobras lead with the highest natural gas production of 421 MMcf/d, 412 MMcf/d and 387 MMcf/d, respectively, in 2025.

09/10/2021

Read the original post:

Trinidad and Tobago steps up gas production - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

ABB and Aker Solutions have added offshore wind to a strategic alliance agreement the two companies signed in 2016 for seabed solutions for oil and gas.

The updated agreement, which now also includes offshore fish farming, covers electrical and control for seabed solutions and offshore wind, power-from-shore and electrical, instrumentation, control and telecommunications for offshore aquaculture.

The companies said on 8 September that the extension to the agreement would accelerate technology development foroffshore wind power and offshore fish farming, and would also support more efficient design and fabrication, and more sustainable operation and maintenance of such facilities.

ABB and Aker Solutions announced their strategic alliance in April 2016, saying the cooperation would enhance how production equipment on the seafloor is powered and controlled by applications on shore or platforms, lowering costs and enabling economically viable production at fields far offshore from existing infrastructure.

Under the new collaboration areas, ABB and Aker Solutions are joining forces on medium and high voltage subsea power distribution solutions, including associated topside equipment for offshore wind and power-from-shore. The companies will also work together on power distribution solutions for subsea consumers such as pumps and compressors.

Furthermore, the strategic alliance will include control, safety and automation solutions for subsea applications, as well as electrical, instrument, control, and telecommunications and power-from-shore for aquaculture.

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ABB, Aker Solutions Join Forces on Offshore Wind - Offshore WIND

rsted has posted almost 30 job vacancies for its operations in the US, including several positions related to offshore wind.

The positions in offshore wind operations span across a range of fields, from commercial project management, contract management, offshore cable installation and geoscience construction management, to electrical and grid connection engineering.

Furthermore, some of the total of 29 currently open positions are part of the companys Graduate Programme, a two-year structured development programme that focuses on developing skills and gaining experiencein relevant areas.

In the US, the developer has operational hubs in Chicago, Boston, and Providence, with Boston being the head office of the developers offshore wind business. The company also has offices inAnnapolis, Atlantic City, Austin, Charlottesville, and New York City.

Earlier this year, rsted announced it would establish its North American Digital Operations Headquarters in Newark, New Jersey.

The company, which was the first European offshore wind developer to enter the US market in 2015, owns and operates the countrys first offshore wind farm, Block Island Wind Farm, after acquiring Deepwater Wind in 2018. rsted has also worked on Dominion Energys Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) demonstration project, which comprises the first turbines ever to be installed in the US federal waters.

The developer further has around 4 GW of awarded offshore wind capacity through six projects on the US East Coast, with the South Fork offshore wind farm now close to completing the federal permitting process and the Sunrise Wind project entering the federal review.

The rest is here:

rsted Posts Several Offshore Wind Job Vacancies in US - Offshore WIND

ABB and Aker Solutions are expanding a strategic alliance agreement for seabed solutions for oil and gas from 2016 to accelerate technology development for offshore wind power and offshore fish farming.

The collaboration will also support more efficient design and fabrication and more sustainable operation and maintenance of such facilities.

The partners said that, like the existing agreement, the extension is not exclusive.

The updated agreement now covers electrical and control for seabed solutions and offshore wind, power-from-shore and electrical, instrumentation, control and telecommunications for offshore aquaculture.

Aker Solutions executive vice president of customers and strategy Anders Hannevik said: Our close and good relationship with ABB over several years has created sustainable innovation in both oil and gas and new technologies for renewables in close collaboration with common customers.

We look forward to building on the good cooperation developed over several years to develop new technologies and systems for sustainable aquaculture facilities and low-carbon, energy-efficient solutions for the energy transition.

ABB in Norway local division manager for energy industries Tor Ove Lussand said: We have had a close, good, and fruitful collaboration with Aker Solutions for several years which has created success for both parties and joint customers.

We look forward to an expanded collaboration that will accelerate technological development for the energy transition and aquaculture facilities with economies of scale and greater sustainability.

The world needs more renewable energy to decarbonise and seafood that is produced in a more sustainable way.

Read the original:

ABB, Aker Solutions form offshore wind team - reNEWS

Iv-Offshore & Energy b.v. has signed the main contract with Sembcorp Marine Integrated Yard Pte Ltd (SMIY) to supply engineering and procurement services for the high voltage direct current (HVDC) offshore converter platform of RWEs Sofia offshore wind farm.

Sofia offshore wind farm, located off the northeast coastline of the UK, will have a capacity of 1.4 gigawatts that will power the equivalent of nearly 1.2 million UK homes, making it one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world when completed.

Sembcorp Marines scope of work for the contract includes the design, construction, installation, and commissioning of the offshore converter platform (OCP).

The OCP comprises a 10,000-tonne topside and a 7,000-tonne jacket foundation structure piled into the seabed 220 kilometres from the nearest shore and will be the most powerful and most remote OCP ever built, Iv-Offshore & Energy said.

Iv-Offshore & Energy is SMIYs engineering subcontractor for the balance of plant installation in this endeavour and shall provide detailed design for both the topside and jacket and procurement of topside auxiliary equipment.

Sembcorp Marine would begin fabrication of the platform at its yard in Batam, Indonesia in the third quarter of 2021, and the offshore installation is slated to be completed by the end of 2024.

Sofia is located on Dogger Bank, 195 kilometres from the nearest point on the UKs North East coast.

The GBP 3 billion wind farm will have a single offshore converter platform, with the electricity generated transported via a high voltage direct current export cable to landfall 220 kilometres away in Redcar, Teesside.

A specially formed consortium of GE Renewable Energys Grid Solutions and Sembcorp Marine has been selected to supply the transmission system for Sofia, including two HVDC converter stations, one onshore and one offshore.

Apart from the converter platforms, the wind farm will feature 100 Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD wind turbines scheduled to be fully commissioned in 2026.

Originally posted here:

Sembcorp Marine Adds Iv-Offshore & Energy to Sofia Offshore Substation Team - Offshore WIND

As the COP26 climate summit gets closer, expect the spotlight to shine ever more brightly on the worlds governments because if they dont have the power to drive the energy transition forwards, nobody does.

Policymakers were prominent on the Recharge website this week, not least those in Scotland where COP26 will be held in November. In a new high-water mark for their influence in UK government, the Greens cemented a power sharing pact with the ruling Scottish National Party that will see the two commit to a doubling at least of onshore wind power, but also exposes divisions between them over hydrogen and the future of the North Sea oil & gas industry.

Another key European market where the Greens have big ambitions is Germany, and with Septembers elections that will spell the end of the Merkel era looming and likely to be close-run the wind industry this week took the chance to remind the contenders of the urgent policy fixes needed to get onshore wind rolling again.

Whatever the election outcome, German officials are already among the worlds most active in what they admit is a global race to secure the best sources of green hydrogen output to meet future massive demand in Europes largest economy.

Having already laid down a marker in Australia, the Germans have now reached an accord with Namibia, the sparsely populated southern African nation with plenty of room and excellent renewable resources to produce plentiful supplies for export.

An in-depth article in Recharge ran the rule over the varying policy approaches of major governments to the future hydrogen economy, with the conflict between emphasis on the blue or green varieties to the fore.

And as Recharge Editor-in-Chief Darius Snieckus makes clear in an opinion article, it is up to policymakers to help abide by the calls of the International Energy Agency, among many others, to halt new oil & gas activity, in the face of a hydrocarbons sector that fiddles while the planet burns.

The policy impetus of President Joe Bidens 30GW end-of-decade target is playing a crucial role in the momentum behind US offshore wind.

Recharge readers got an insight into how that is progressing, from the point of view of Tommy Beaudreau, deputy secretary at the Department of Interior (DoI), who reckons the plan is on track thanks to a regulatory team that has come out of the blocks fast.

Things are certainly moving. Recharge also reported how Port of Virginias Portsmouth Marine Terminal has been lined up for staging and pre-assembly of turbine foundations for Dominion Energys up-to-3GW offshore wind project, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind.

The sector passed another milestone when partners Orsted and Eversource tapped contractor Kiewit to build what will be the first American-built offshore wind substation, for the South Fork project under development in the US Atlantic.

There was also a new boost to New York States credentials as an offshore wind supply chain big-hitter with news that European fabricator Smulders will add transition piece capability to the Port of Albany hub that will serve giant projects planned by Equinor and BP.

Well end Agenda with a couple of gems from the never-dull world of hydrogen technology, which between them suggest that by the time the H2 economy is in full swing it could be very different to what is currently envisaged.

Spanish oil group Repsol is claiming more progress with its very disruptive plans to link solar power directly to production, doing away altogether with the electrolysis step that is currently crucial to green H2.

Nuclear also just refuses to stop staking a claim to a role in the hydrogen future, and this week research group Wood Mackenzie said future mini-nuclear reactors could compete with green hydrogen from renewables at a price point of around $65/MWh not too far below what is already being claimed as possible by the like of Rolls-Royce. Watch this space.

Read this article:

Spotlight on green policymakers, America's offshore dream takes shape, and staking a claim in H2's future | Recharge - Recharge

As the world struggles to provide cleaner, less expensive energy sources, some countries are exploring more use of wind power as a key option.

The Biden administration this year pledged to increase the United States use of offshore wind energy, with a goal of doubling use by 2030 to 30 gigawatts, which could power about 10 million American homes annually.

Wind energy is renewable, which means it replenishes itself naturally (other examples include solar energy via sunlight), and studies find its costs are falling. The International Renewable Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organization, anticipates offshore wind costs will fall by 55% by 2030, to 5.4 cents per kilowatt hour from about 11.5 cents per kilowatt hour.

That puts it within the striking range of natural gas, said Elizabeth Henry, president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts.

Wind energy is produced with the help of spinning turbine blades and other equipment that generate electricity. Onshore winds can be obstructed by hills or buildings, analysts say, whereas offshore wind farms that operate in the ocean generally result in stronger and steadier winds and produce more electricity.

The most significant growth in global offshore wind energy has been within the last decade, according to the U.S. government-funded research company National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Although wind production remains relatively low in comparison with nonrenewable resources such as natural gas and coal, the pace of growth is attracting global attention.

The global wind energy industry grew by more than 53% from 2019 to 2020, and investment in offshore wind totaled $303 billion in 2020, said the Global Wind Energy Council, an international trade association.

Global competition over wind energy

The U.K., Germany and China had the largest capacities, meaning the amount of energy produced if generators were running at full blast, to produce offshore wind energy in 2019, said the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. As other countries develop the increasingly cheap, and renewable, energy source, the U.S. could lag behind, the think tank Bipartisan Policy Center warned in a July report.

Absent a concerted national effort to deploy this technology, the United States risks falling behind northern Europe and China, which currently lead the world in offshore wind, the report reads.

In a July 29 hearing of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ted Deutch, a Democrat from Florida, said that most renewable energy technology is manufactured with rare earth minerals, such as neodymium and dysprosium used to create wind energy generators resources that China has a stronghold on.

The market for that is monopolized by China, and Im hopeful that the U.S. and EU can work to forge supply chains, recycling environmentally sound development of these critical minerals, he said.

In the U.S., wind energy development has largely been left to the states: Theyre responsible for the majority of project planning and execution, and approval comes from the federal side. Massachusetts leads the way nationally for the most planned offshore wind pipelines, holding nine leases with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Some energy resources analysts say more involvement by the federal government is essential for efforts to succeed.

It has not been that feasible for a single state to jumpstart this industry in the absence of the federal government, said Dwayne Breger, former head of the renewable energy division at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and now the clean energy extension director at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Now we have the federal leadership that is new and will allow us to begin to build out the offshore wind project and industry in the U.S.

Achieving President Bidens pledge of doubling the offshore wind energy in the U.S. by 2030 would require increasing steel and factory production, as well as accelerating lease sales, according to the White House.

This year, the U.S. has expanded offshore wind-eligible areas in California and the East Coast, and plans to lease at least 16 offshore wind farms by 2025, which the White House says would meet almost two-thirds of the 2030 energy goal.

The pushback that ended one offshore project

Many supporters and opponents of offshore wind have their eyes on Vineyard Wind, which would be the nations first commercial-scale offshore wind project if successful. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved it in May.

Plans for the project include installation of 62 turbines 15 miles off the southern coast of Cape Cod, Mass. It would meet 10% of the states power needs at full operation, or power about 400,000 homes, according to the development company. Most of the states energy currently comes from natural gas and ethanol.

Over the course of 10 public meetings and requests for comment by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, more than half of comments from residents, business owners, government agencies and the general public supported Vineyard Wind. But some in the fishing industry say it will endanger their livelihoods, and a solar energy company sued the federal government in July saying it overlooked dangers that could harm endangered species and drive out the fishing industry in the area.

The controversy is reminiscent of the Cape Wind project, proposed in 2001. It was to be constructed about five miles off the coast of Cape Cod, in the center of Nantucket Sound, a popular area for boating and fishing.

Throughout its 16 years of project development, Cape Wind was subject to dozens of lawsuits and opposition from property owners on the coastline. In a 2005 op-ed to the New York Times, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited the obstructed view of Nantucket Sound, the high price of offshore wind, and the negative impacts to the environment and fishing industry as reasons for opposing the project, echoing common concerns of residents.

The unrelenting legal action was effective: It delayed the project by years, and Cape Wind eventually lost its contracts. The $2.6-billion project was abandoned in 2017 before construction began.

New opposition to offshore wind, and its future in the U.S.

The most vocal opposition to the new offshore wind project is from some members of the fishing industry. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management anticipates that commercial fisheries will abandon the entire 75,614 acre area around Vineyard Wind. The turbines will be one nautical mile apart, too close together for some boats to navigate safely.

Hundreds of seafood industry workers from across the country signed on to a letter demanding a five-year moratorium on all offshore wind developments. Fishing groups such as the Garden State Seafood Assn. and the Long Island Commercial Fishing Assn. have called for the same.

Tom Dameron, the government relations liaison for Surfside Seafood Products, said the impact of Vineyard Wind down the line would be catastrophic for his company.

There is going to be localized overfishing that will lead to the targeting of younger and younger clams, which will eventually lead to the collapse of the fishery, Dameron said.

Vineyard Wind has set up a compensation fund for fishers, but Dameron says its not enough to offset productivity loss. Hes worried about the domino effect it could have, leading to more offshore wind farms across the coast and fewer areas for his company to harvest clams.

Vineyard Wind is expected to begin offshore construction in 2022, and the U.S. has many other offshore wind projects in the works: 2020 saw more than triple the amount of planned offshore wind energy than 2019.

Biden plans to initiate up to 10 more environmental reviews for offshore wind projects in 2021, a critical step in advancing them. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has 18 active leases for offshore wind farms in the U.S., all of which are on the East Coast and were leased within the last decade.

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U.S. to boost offshore wind energy as industry sees growth - Los Angeles Times