Category Archives: Offshore

Transmission system operator TenneT has issued a notice for a turnkey contract covering the cable system needed to connect the BorWin6 offshore platform to the German grid.

With the 930 MW BorWin6 project, TenneT is planning a direct current connection in the North Sea Cluster 7.

Scheduled to be commissioned by 2027, the BorWin6 offshore grid connection will collect the three-phase current generated at an offshore wind farm to be selected in the 2022 auction round.

The three-phase current will then be converted into the direct current on the BorWin kappa offshore converter platform and transported to the mainland in Bsum via an export cable approximately 189 kilometres in length.

From there, the electricity is to be transported to the BUTL grid connection point near Bttel via an approximately 46-kilometre underground cable.

The content of this tender is the turnkey and ready-to-use construction of the entire DC cable system required for this, TenneT said.

The cable system consists of two DC single conductor submarine cables, two DC single conductor land cables, optical fibers, sleeves, and cable terminations.

In addition, the scope of delivery and performance of the cable system includes its design, manufacture, delivery, construction, installation and commissioning as well as all systems, ancillary systems and components that are required for safe and highly available operation of the cable system.

The tender remains open until 14 July. The contract will have a duration of 64 months.

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Cable Connection Needed for German Offshore Platform - Offshore WIND

This images shows wind turbines in the North Sea, off the coast of Belgium.

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images

Energy major Equinor said Wednesday it was working with RWE Renewables and Hydro REIN on an application for the development of a "large-scale" offshore wind farm in the Norwegian North Sea.

According to a statement, the companies will work together on submitting a proposal to authorities in Norway for the facility, which would be located in an area known as Srlige Nordsj II.

Pal Eitrheim, Equinor's executive vice president for new energy solutions, described the North Sea as having "among the world's best wind resources."

"A large-scale offshore wind farm at Srlige Nordsj II could play a key role in expanding the North Sea as an offshore energy hub and create new industrial opportunities for Norway as an energy nation," he added.

Formerly known as Statoil, Equinor's biggest shareholder is the Norwegian state. A significant player in the oil and gas industry, the company has also sought to diversify its portfolio to include renewables.

Among other things, it is a key backer of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, a major offshore wind project off the coast of northeast England.

In June 2020, Norwegian authorities opened up two areas in the North Sea the aforementioned Srlige Nordsj II and another called Utsira Nord for the development of offshore renewables.

In practice, this allows interested parties to put forward license applications for renewable energy projects. The opening up came into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.

Together, Srlige Nordsj II and Utsira Nord "allow for the development" of 4,500 megawatts of wind power, according to Norway's government. Equinor, RWE and Hydro REIN, a subsidiary of industrial firm Hydro, did not disclose the size of their project in Wednesday's announcement.

While it has a long association with oil and gas that looks set to continue for the foreseeable future, the North Sea is also becoming a hub for offshore wind.

As well as projects like Dogger Bank Wind Farm, it's already home to major offshore wind facilities such as the 174 turbine, 1.2 gigawatt Hornsea One.

Danish energy firm Orsted says Hornsea One covers an area of around 407 square kilometers and is able to power "well over one million UK homes."

On Tuesday, port operator Forth Ports announced plans for a "renewable energy hub" at the Port of Leith in Scotland.

The proposed hub, which would be backed by 40 million ($56.55 million) of private investment, is slated to cover 175 acres if built.

According to those behind the project, it would offer a "riverside marine berth capable of accommodating the world's largest offshore wind installation vessels."

In a statement accompanying the announcement, Charles Hammond, chief executive of Forth Ports, listed a number of factors which made the project an attractive one.

He said: "Leith's proximity to the North Sea, which is set to become home to many more offshore wind developments, coupled with the natural deep waters of the Firth of Forth, makes this an ideal location to support not only those developments already planned, but the pipeline of projects that are sure to follow."

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European energy giants team up to develop large-scale offshore wind project in North Sea - CNBC

Power industry observers were optimistic about prospects for the US to meet its bold target of 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 but permitting hurdles and potential supply chain obstacles were common threads of concern during Reuters' US offshore wind conference May 26.

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Federal and state policy seem to have aligned on the importance of offshore wind to US energy and climate goals at a time that industry and public support are also favoring the technology, Xizhou Zhou, vice president and global managing director, global power and renewables, at IHS Markit, said. "But we also cannot ignore the challenges that lie ahead."

Among those are a fairly complex regulatory approval process that has caused frustration among some pioneering project developers and the lack of a dedicated supply chain, Zhou said. He also noted the need for more coordination and investment in transmission as well as port and Jones Act vessel restrictions that could hamper US offshore wind development.

Ruth Perry, a business environment adviser at Shell, said a major obstacle to offshore wind development was the lack of predictability created by the current regulatory process. And Joshua Bennett, vice president of offshore wind at Dominion Energy, flagged five areas in which the US would need to improve upon if it wanted to build a supply chain capable of meeting the demand of building 30 GW by 2030.

"The offshore wind industry at present is very policy- and target-driven, as the economics compared with other forms of renewables is not competitive in most US locations," Manan Ahuja, S&P Global Platts Analytics' manager of North American power analytics, said in an email May 26. "Also, we have seen in recent experience that it is not easy to site and get approvals for offshore wind construction and related transmission needed."

Platts Analytics' latest long-term forecast, published prior to the recent offshore wind announcements for California, expects 13 GW of offshore wind to be built by 2030 in the US Lower-48, incorporating commitments made by various states.

"We have to get better, both industry and government, at really setting expectations in terms of the permitting process," Shell's Perry said. "Unfortunately, we're having to build the plane as we fly it a bit, and we have to get better at doing that."

Doing so will require "enabling technologies, refocusing how we look at consultations and permits and [figuring out] what can we do to make those efforts more efficient," she said.

Further, "as that plane is being built, ... we need to have the next team on the ground that's building the second, more technologically advanced model, and that's where we really look at [the Department of Energy]."

DOE, for instance, could be starting to address concerns and challenges surrounding floating wind turbines so hesitations are eliminated and permitting processes are more efficient by the time that technology is ready for commercial scale, Perry said.

"I think if we can make some improvements but also really build our coordination and collaboration, we will see innovation in the government processes and we'll see efficiencies in the regulatory reform," she said.

Zhou suggested that it was important to remember that the US' offshore wind aspirations were not happening in a bubble. Globally, about 35 GW of installed offshore wind capacity exists today, with about 285 GW of offshore wind projects in the pipeline, according to IHS Markit's latest data.

About 70% of existing offshore wind capacity is located in Europe, Zhou said. And the US, with 33 GW of proposed offshore wind projects, accounts for about 11% of the global total of project proposals, as a number of European countries, China, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea and Brazil also have plans for significant offshore wind capacity growth.

"On one hand, global-scale collaboration can help spur technological progress and then reduce costs for everybody, and we've seen that in the onshore wind, solar industries and many other sectors," Zhou said. "But on the flip side, there could also be times when there are limitations and bottlenecks in that supply chain. And when that happens, developers will have to compete with each other."

Because projects around the world are already competing for the same equipment manufacturers, engineering and construction capacity, "US developers will need to pay attention to what's happening in the global marketplace to make a judgment about how to pace project development and supply chain buildout in this country," Zhou said.

Still, he said IHS Markit was "relatively optimistic" about offshore wind's future in the US and expected the Biden administration's medium-term goals in 2030 and 2035 would "largely be met." Beyond that, IHS Markit's long-term outlook put US offshore wind at more than 60 GW by midcentury, Zhou said.

Asked about building a US supply chain, Dominion's Bennett pointed to project certainty among the necessary steps.

"Now that the projects are moving along in the permitting process, it's sending a very clear message to industry to finance, design and build and manufacture capacity to support the growth of the offshore wind industry," he said.

Bennet also asserted a need to form partnerships with existing companies with experience in the sector and potentially European counterparts looking to expand into the US market, as well as to form business alliances across the different areas of the supply chain, from shipbuilding to import services, to foster regional growth.

Port infrastructure development, including upgrades to manage load density and marshaling space requirements and increase the capacity and efficiency of the port, and reviving manufacturing tax credits would also be important, he said.

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Permitting, supply chain issues flagged as US charts offshore wind expansion - S&P Global

The first master control system for an offshore wind turbine made in China was put into operation on 29 May at Huadians Fuqing Haitan Strait offshore wind project.

The Huadian Ruifeng 6.2 MW master control system, installed on one of the offshore wind farms turbines, is based on a CPU processor and software developed in the country.

This is the first time a China-developed wind power master control system, including key technologies covering independent design, simulation test and engineering application, was applied in offshore wind generators, Xinhua reports.

The Fuqing Haitan Strait project, developed by China Huadian Corporation, features 22 MingYang MySE7.0-158 turbines with a rated power of 7 MW and a rotor diameter of 158 metres.

The 300 MW offshore wind farm, locatednear the shore off the northeast part of Longgao peninsula in the Fuqing county, produced first power in December 2020.

The offshore wind farm, which can power around half of a million households, is the first offshore wind project for China Huadian Corporation.

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China Switches On Its First Offshore Wind Turbine Master Control System - Offshore WIND

Presented by RenewableUK, GOW21 will focus on how the sector can support 2050 climate targets in the UK.

The programme will be supported and enriched by Event Partners RWE, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, SSE Renewables, rsted, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and Vestas. There will also be a world-class speaker line-up with individuals from a vast array of organisations, including government bodies, manufacturers, developers, project managers, stakeholders, planners and trade press, to name but a few. Plus, the eclectic speaker and delegate mix and virtual event tools will provide unparalleled networking opportunities.

Discover what challenges still lie ahead as offshore wind expands, how reliability and affordability of zero carbon technology could be further improved, and how all this will impact the wider renewable energy market.

The hybrid, Covid-19-safe event will feature:

With the climate crisis coming to the forefront of worldwide agenda, the offshore wind sector is full of opportunity and innovation. Be a part of it at GOW21.

For more details, please visit: https://events.renewableuk.com/gow21-overview

#RUKGOW21

This article is supported by RenewableUK.

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Save the dates for RenewableUK's Global Offshore Wind 2021 - http://www.businessgreen.com

30 May 2021

Ballard Spahr LLP

To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com.

In the first episode of our Energy and Environment Reviewseries, Ballard's energy and environmental lawyers will addressthe energy evolution driven by climate change, renewable energyinnovation, electrification and energy efficiency, as consumers,generators and investors alike strive for a sustainable future.Today's episode features a discussion of the state of theoffshore wind energy business in the U.S., including regulatory andenvironmental issues, developments under the Biden Administration,and coming areas of opportunity for further development.

Leading the discussion is Brendan Collins, a Partner inBallard's Philadelphia office who is the Practice Leader of thefirm's Manufacturing Group and an environmental lawyer whodevotes his practice primarily to clients in the electric powersector and the oil and gas industry.

Brendan's guest is Jennifer Simon Lento, General Counsel,Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer at Vineyard Wind,a developer of one of the largest U.S. offshore wind projects.

A Recording Transcript will be available shortly

To view the podcast please click here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a generalguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be soughtabout your specific circumstances.

POPULAR ARTICLES ON: Energy and Natural Resources from United States

Jones Day

On January 27, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14008 ("E.O. 14008"), implementing a temporary pause on the auction of new oil and gas leases on federal land and water while the President's administration reviews the program.

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Recent Developments In The Offshore Wind Energy Industry With Special Guest Jennifer Simon Lento Of Vineyard Wind - Energy and Natural Resources -...

New Zealands offer to resettle refugees from Australias offshore immigration detention system remains on the table, and the imminent end of Australias long-running US refugee swap could bring it under more urgent consideration from Australia.

The office of Jacinda Ardern confirmed to the Guardian that her countrys position had not changed the longstanding offer to accept 150 refugees from Australias offshore islands each year still stood but declined to confirm whether it was on the agenda for the New Zealand prime ministers meeting with her Australian counterpart on Sunday. We dont discuss the content of bilaterals before they take place.

Ardern and Scott Morrison will meet on Sunday and Monday in Queenstown.

Nine years after Australia restarted offshore processing, and more than seven years since the last asylum seeker was sent offshore, 239 refugees and asylum seekers remain held within Australias offshore islands processing regime: 109 on Nauru and 130 in Papua New Guinea.

According to government figures, 1,223 transitory persons are in Australia, brought back from offshore processing islands. This cohort might also be considered by Australia at least as candidates for resettlement.

Australia has repeatedly said it would consider resettling refugees in New Zealand only after its 2016 deal with the US was extinguished.

Under the Obama-era deal condemned as horrible and disgusting but ultimately honoured by his successor, Donald Trump the US has agreed to take up to 1,250 refugees from Australias offshore system, in exchange for Australia accepting refugees from the northern triangle of Central America held in US-run camps.

The US has so far resettled 936 refugees from Australia, and a further 258 have been provisionally accepted. That would bring the number resettled in America to 1,194, close to the deals cap.

US sources with knowledge of the program say that despite the Biden administration increasing the size of its refugee resettlement program for 2021, there will be no additional places for refugees held by Australia.

In October 2020 the secretary of Australias home affairs department, Mike Pezzullo, confirmed to a Senate estimates hearing that Australia would consider the New Zealand resettlement offer to accept 150 refugees from offshore each year once the US deal was extinguished.

The Australian government is grateful for that offer from the government of New Zealand its an offer that remains under active consideration.

The home affairs deputy secretary Marc Ablong told the Senate: We are getting close to the end of the program. The United States agreed to take a certain number and were starting to reach that number.

Craig Foster and Sonny Bill Williams, working with Amnesty International, said many refugees risked being left behind by the end of the US resettlement deal.

By accepting this offer, the torment they have endured for almost eight years could finally and mercifully end, Foster, a former Socceroo and spokesman for the Game Over campaign, said.

Williams, a former New Zealand All Black, said politics should be put aside in favour of a humanitarian solution.

New Zealand has a long and proud history of welcoming refugees, and theyve been offering this solution since 2013. Its time to accept it and let people rebuild their lives.

Australia had previously said it was reluctant to allow refugees to resettle in New Zealand because, after five years, they could claim citizenship and would be eligible to travel without restriction to Australia: a position belied by the fact that Australia regularly prevents some New Zealand citizens from entering Australia.

Last time Australia ran an offshore detention program, between 2001 and 2007, several hundred refugees were ultimately resettled in New Zealand.

And at least one, high-profile, refugee from Australias most recent offshore detention regime has already resettled in New Zealand. The journalist and author Behrouz Boochani flew to New Zealand in 2019 to speak at a literary festival in Christchurch: he was granted asylum.

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New Zealand offer to resettle Australias offshore refugees still active as US deal nears end - The Guardian

Seattle, WA

The government of The Bahamas has full legal authority to end the current threat of offshore oil drilling in its world-famous blue waters. Thats the conclusion of a legal analysis by Earthjustice, summarized in a letter to the Bahamian government today.

The legal analysis comes as the Bahamas Petroleum Company requests a three-year renewal of offshore drilling licenses. The company, which was originally granted a drilling license in 2007, drilled an exploration well this winter but failed to find recoverable oil deposits.

The terms of those licenses, as well as provisions of governing law, make clear that the Bahamian government maintains full discretion and authority to deny the drilling renewal request.

Late last year, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis expressed the governments opposition to offshore drilling in The Bahamas as Bahamas Petroleum Company started drilling its Perseverance #1 exploration well. While that well failed to find recoverable oil, the company recently applied to renew its licenses while also announcing its intent to farm out any future drilling to as-yet-determined third parties. Under the terms of the existing licenses and the governing provisions of the Petroleum Act, the government has discretion to renew the licenses for up to a three years. But nothing in the available record requires the government to grant the renewal request.

As an organization working to protect our shared oceans and transition the U.S. away from fossil fuels, we respect and appreciate the Bahamian governments expressed opposition to offshore oil drilling in these treasured waters, said Steve Mashuda, Earthjustice Managing Attorney for Oceans. Our analysis concludes that the governments authority to deny a license renewal is firmly supported by the law. We urge the government to exercise that considerable discretion and authority to protect The Bahamas irreplaceable marine environment and deny Bahamas Petroleum Companys application to renew the licenses.

The letter explains further that a denial is not only within the governments lawful authority, but is also justified by the Bahamas Petroleum Companys actions and announced intentions, and would restore The Bahamas path to meeting its international climate commitments.

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Bahamas Government has Authority to Deny Offshore Drilling, Analysis Shows - Earthjustice

(May 13, 2021) Town officials and island nonprofit organizations are preparing for the first public forum on the second largescale offshore wind farm proposed south of Nantucket.

Mayflower Wind, a 1,600-megawatt project proposed on a 192-square-mile federal lease site, 20 miles south of the island, follows Vineyard Wind, which received federal approval this week.

The question is what environmental and navigational impacts the wind farm could have, and what its construction could mean for the islands designation as a national historic landmark.

Every effort should be made to reduce the visual impact, whether thats moving back the turbines, using the (aircraft detection lighting systems) lighting, or painting the turbines a certain color, Nantucket Preservation Trust executivedirector Mary Bergman said.

To read the complete story, pick up the May 13 print edition of The Inquirer and Mirror or register for the I&Ms online edition byclicking here.

Click hereto sign up for Above the Fold, The Inquirer and Mirrors twice-weekly newsletter, bringing you both the news and a slice of island life, curated with content created by Nantuckets only team of professionally-trained journalists.

For up-to-the-minute information on Nantuckets breaking news, boat and plane cancellations, weather alerts, sports and entertainment news, deals and promotions at island businesses and more, Sign up for Inquirer and Mirror text alerts.Click Here

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Mayflower Wind surfaces as next offshore wind farm - The Inquirer and Mirror

Outsourcing is the new norm for developers to build software products. The vast transformation of the remote work business model has forced businesses to switch to outsourcing. Hiring offshore developers provides businesses access to cost-efficient qualified resources.

By outsourcing the development project, companies will obtain qualified professionals, a large talent pool, the latest technology development, and quality-oriented solutions. Due to the high demand for software products, the market is booming to extend offshore development teams. Nevertheless, finding an offshore development team is challenging, although it is a responsible and crucial task.

In this article, we have listed below 6 ways which can assist in hiring offshore developers.

Let's lead off!

1. Industry Directories:

There are many online directories such as Clutch, G2, Upcity, ITFirms, Good firms in which many of the offshore companies are listed. These directories bring together software development contractors. During the search, you can delve deeper into specific areas of expertise and obtain the company that does specifically what you need.

2. Freelance Websites:

If the business project is small or the budget is too li

mited then you must look at the freelance sites. There are several online portals where you can partner with an offshore development team. You can post job requirements on freelance websites and the interested enterprise will connect you. Below listed are some of the famous freelance websites:

Both websites are the most commonly used resources to find offshore development teams. Besides, there is a rating system, to get a good understanding of their work quality. The platform handles the administration aspect of your collaboration with employees, so you can concentrate on the progress of the project.

YouTeam is an ideal tool to find candidates or teams amongst developers. The platform ensures that the applicants have evidence of competency.

This platform assists clients and engineering teams to connect and collaborate before and during the project. And it connects businesses with potential contractors. It establishes a strong bond between the partners.

The aforementioned platforms are considered the most popular and effective in terms of collaboration among client service providers.

The con of a freelance website is you have to work with intermediaries such as Toptal, Up work, which will end up increasing offshore developer rates. Or you have to sacrifice security and reliability by hiring freelancers on your own.

3. LinkedIn Network:

LinkedIn is a global platform, which is logged in by almost every professional offshore development company. The people who are in search of new talents need to know about this global platform as it is the basic yet significant headhunting tool for clients and recruiters. However, This platform is not the main resource for searching for offshore development teams, but it may be of great assistance.

Using this website, you can access the geographical situation of the enterprises. Also, you can look in for the employees' data, their experience, and even the accounts of the companies employees. While hiring offshore developers, be sure to study their previous work history and their activities.

You should look for an active and curious offshore development team because software development is not a stable field, and companies that are stagnant in outdated knowledge are never the best choice.

4. Tech Talent Marketplaces:

Despite the fact that software is said to be consuming the planet, software developers and other technological resources are still scarce. It is very difficult for major tech companies to hire the best engineers. but it has also led to more frequent use of remote working freelancers or going to offshore agencies. The problem with both solutions is how to ensure work will be high quality & hire an individual who is a good fit for your team.

To get rid of the above issues marketplace for offshore tech talent comes in rescue. Here it connects individual developers at agencies with needed companies who are looking to add one to their own development team through outsourcing. On the supply side, the marketplace features profiles of individual developers at the organizations in which it has collaborated.

The intention is to hire named individuals from the firm for a fixed period of time or the duration of a much longer project.

For the agency employee, it is possible that they would have a more consistent and potentially more exciting stream of work without having to waste time searching for and pricing the next gig. For the company outsourcing development work, they get advantages of reputed agencies in the middle between developer and company handling all the payment and disputes.

5. Get In Touch With The Tech Community:

As you are part of the larger tech community, be sure to use networking to find the right candidates. You can ask others to help either online or offline. You can make a post on social media describing your project needs and situation. Share the post with your friends who are in the same industry or field and request them to share their experiences to your benefit.

You can also use platforms such as Quora and Forums by applying search for particular keywords. In such platforms, you will get responses from many of the people and via the link, you can get in touch with the offshore development provider.

Search on Google, you will find related companies there. You can use special keywords that will take you to the best offshore development websites. Before hiring an offshore development team you should look for the previous project and ask for feedback on their performance.

6. Through Local Consultant:

There are a lot of consultants who concentrate on putting you in touch with the offshore development teams. They are experts in negotiating offshore developer rates and dealing with them. These could be useful to you, especially if you do not have experience in team management or areas related to IT.

In addition, You can attend conferences and trade fairs, where offshore development teams will be exhibiting. You can also visit technical events and make contact with the tech community. Such connections will help you gather more information about remote workforce employment.

In A Nutshell:

If you are interested in collaborating with an offshore development team, you can use the aforementioned methods to get the best team. The offshore development team will drive down your development costs and enhance the quality of your software.

The rest is here:

6 ways to find an offshore development team in 2021 - Finextra