Accelerating the development of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) will be a significant enabler to reaching net zero, according to new research from the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult.

ORE Catapult highlights that by 2050, the global robotics market in the energy sector will be worth £8.4 billion. With its high-growth forecasts, wind energy (onshore and offshore) is expected to open up a new robotics frontier that will be valued at £1.3 billion by 2030, increasing to £3.5 billion by 2050. Meanwhile, declining production will see the oil and gas market’s robotics market peak at £5 billion in 2030, before reducing to £3.3 billion by 2050.

The U.K. is targeting a seven-fold increase in offshore wind capacity by 2050, and with this growth comes the need for more operations and maintenance (O&M) activity. With wind farms set to be in deeper, more remote, often challenging waters, securing safe access for humans will be a significant industry challenge.

Accelerating and investing in the development of advanced RAS will mitigate this risk and means robots will handle not only routine maintenance tasks, but also improve pre-emptive maintenance, which will extend the life of components and turbines at sea, supporting the industry’s waste reduction drive.

ORE Catapult’s report highlights the global wind O&M market (both onshore and offshore) will grow from £51 billion in 2030 to £120 billion in 2050. While robotics will take a share of this prize, these technologies will also combine with data and digital solutions and other forms of O&M to increase that market share.

This is a huge opportunity for the U.K. to add value to the supply chain by leveraging its offshore oil and gas experience and global leadership in offshore wind. The expansion of offshore wind is set to offset many of the oil and gas jobs set to be lost over the next 30 years, with RAS set to create a 200,000-net-jobs boost across all U.K. sectors by 2038.

While the U.K. offshore wind O&M market for robotics is set to double in size, the export potential is even greater and set for staggering growth of 410 percent, increasing from £235 million in 2030 to £1.2 billion in 2050.

“The growth of the global energy market presents a remarkable opportunity for robotics and autonomous systems,” said Gavin Smart, Head of Analysis & Insights at ORE Catapult. “This is not only the case in offshore renewables, a sector which continues to grow at pace, but also in oil and gas in the short to medium term. What is unique about the robotics market is the potential for cross-application technologies. It is likely that the solutions that will maximize performance, increase efficiency, and improve safety will be adapted to work across multiple industries — inside and outside energy.

“As we continue to work towards achieving net zero, it is clear that robotics will play a key part,” he said. “The opportunity this presents for the U.K. is significant — across the supply chain we can create jobs, upskill our energy workforce, build export potential, and add value to our economy.”

ORE Catapult supports many robotic technologies that have already shown promise for the offshore wind sector, including robots that can crawl turbine blades to conduct repair and maintenance, robots that can perform subsea cleaning and inspection tasks, and unmanned vessels that provide a power and communication hub for remotely operated and autonomous underwater vehicles.

“Cutting-edge research and development into robotic technologies for offshore wind is already taking place, right here in the U.K.,” Smart said. “We are building a position as a pioneer and expert in this field, which opens up a multi-billion pound domestic and export market over the coming decades. ORE Catapult is driving forward the pace of investment and R&D, and by defining the size of the prize on offer, we want to encourage the U.K. supply chain to capitalize on the opportunities. This is an incredibly exciting space to be in right now.”

Read ORE Catapult’s full research report and discover more about the technologies already in action.

https://ore.catapult.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ORE-Catapult-RAS-market-report-FINAL.pdf

Vestas has secured a 396MW contract for the Rye Park Wind Farm in New South Wales, Australia. It will be the second project in Asia Pacific to feature Vestas’ EnVentus platform.

Vestas will supply and install 66 V162-6.2 MW wind turbines in 6.0MW operating mode.

Rye Park Wind Farm will be Vestas’ second-largest Australian project, and it will be the largest wind farm in New South Wales. In addition to providing clean energy for the equivalent of approximately 215,000 homes annually, Rye Park Wind Farm will create around 250 jobs during the peak of its construction and up to 10 ongoing regional jobs during its operational life.

The project is a partnership with Tilt Renewables, which is now part of the leading Australian renewable energy generator Powering Australian Renewables (PowAR),

“Vestas values our partnership with Tilt Renewables and PowAR as we build on our existing footprint of nearly 400 MW of wind energy in Australia,” said Peter Cowling, head of Vestas Australia and New Zealand.

Delivery of Vestas’ wind turbines is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2022, with commissioning to commence in the second quarter of 2023.

MORE INFO  www.vestas.com/en/products/enventus_platform#

The H2Mare project aims to establish a new type of offshore wind turbine, one that integrates an electrolyzer for direct conversion of electricity to produce green hydrogen on an industrial scale.

This way, the self-sufficient units can save costs of connection to the grid, and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In a second phase, the green hydrogen can be converted into synthetic fuels and energy carriers.

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the project. “We are bringing in our offshore wind and electrification capabilities as well as our expertise in electrolysis. H₂Mare unites the strengths of research and industry – for sustainable decarbonization of the economy and to the benefit of the environment,” said Christian Bruch, Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Energy AG.

The project comprises four joint projects that are promoted independently of each other, with a total of 35 partners. Those projects are:

• OffgridWind: A turbine concept that realizes electrolysis directly in the offshore wind turbine.

• H2Wind: Aims to improve the maximum yield of wind energy, consisting of the development of a proton exchange membrane electrolysis system.

• PtX-Wind: Focuses on converting to more easily transportable, synthetic energy carriers and fuels, such as methane, methanol, and ammonia. Direct saltwater electrolysis is also being tested.

• TransferWind: Addresses transfer of knowledge to the public and exchange of expertise across multiple projects.

This will involve consideration of the entire value creation chain: from wind energy generation and hydrogen production to the conversion of hydrogen into methane, liquid hydrocarbons, methanol, or ammonia right up to use in industry or the energy sector. The goal is a significant cost advantage in the production of large volumes of hydrogen.

Siemens Energy is responsible for the coordination of H2Mare and is supported by institutes of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft.

MORE INFO  www.iwes.fraunhofer.de/en/press—media/wind-turbines-with-integrated-electrolyzer-demonstrate-sustainab.html

Russelectric, a manufacturer of automatic transfer switches and power control systems, has introduced Paralleling System, for ensuring no interruption of critical loads when transferring between power source assets.

The system can be configured for peak shaving and utility-sponsored load curtailment programs and offers high resiliency, power continuity and security for critical renewable energy installations.

Paralleling Systems incorporate dual, redundant, hot synchronized programmable logic controllers (PLCs) for system control. Discrete switches, meters, and control devices are standard to allow manual control capability in the event that both system PLCs fail. The system provides soft loading transfer and phase lock synchronizing when paralleling with the utility, which reduces transients and controls the loading to the engine generators.

Russelectric provides basic or custom SCADA for local or remote monitoring of all power system functions. Custom SCADA systems allow users to monitor system operation, acknowledge alarms and review PLC setpoints.

The Paralleling System offers a choice of either momentary paralleling with the utility or sustained paralleling for soft loading. Also available is paralleling of generator sets with the utility upon return of the utility source after power interruption. Selector switches are provided for open/closed transition, automatic/manual paralleling of generators and utility sources, and automatic/manual retransfer between both sources of power.

System operation begins with testing in closed-transition mode with no interruption of the load. Generators are then paralleled with the utility and the load is transferred to them. Upon completion of testing, the load is retransferred through closed-transition to the utility source without disturbance.

Utility Paralleling Systems can also be used in financial institutions, data centers, telecommunications, airports, healthcare facilities, and water and wastewater treatment plants.

MORE INFO  www.russelectric.com

Dutch offshore wind access company Ampelmann signed 13 contracts in 2021 to provide motion-compensated gangway solutions for personnel and cargo transfer in Europe.

“Securing these projects has brought us new opportunities to deliver the highest level of safety to offshore operations,” said Bob Rollerman, business developer for Europe at Ampelmann.

Ampelmann will use its A-type and E1000 systems for all 13 campaigns. Two will use the company’s A-hoist, an innovation that allows the A-type to efficiently and safely lift and transfer up to 240kg of cargo.

For larger cargo operations, Ampelmann is using the E1000, which can transfer loads up to 1 ton, as well as compensate for vessels’ motions in the high seas.

“Safety and efficiency are at the core of what we do at Ampelmann and the E1000 delivers on both. It significantly improves the efficiency of our client’s operations, with its ability to switch between cargo and personnel transfer in less than a minute and with the push of a button,” Rollerman said.

One of the projects is the company’s first in France, supporting the installation of a wind farm’s foundation.  “Every commissioning operation in offshore wind is a step in the right direction and entering new geographical areas in that market is particularly exciting,” Rollerman said.

part from the installation and commissioning of wind farms, Ampelmann’s systems are also supporting multiple maintenance operations. Most of the contracts are with returning customers.

The company has introduced Insights, its data-driven platform that gives clients a detailed look into their day-to-day operations, including transfer numbers, performance, and workability forecasts based on sea and weather conditions.

According to some of the latest data, Ampelmann has enabled the safe transfer of more than 22,000 people and close to 1.5 million kg of cargo so far in the new projects.

MORE INFO  www.ampelmann.nl/news

The Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) is training workers who will build the wind farms that will provide clean energy to the northeast U.S.

“It’s a fact that the clean energy industry is growing, and we are taking steps to be involved in this unique opportunity,” said Rear Admiral Francis X. McDonald, USMS, President of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

“One of the most important ways we can contribute is by training the men and women who will be on the front lines of this emerging industry,” McDonald said.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center provided funding in 2018 for MMA to build its Global Wind Organization training facility at the Maritime Center for Responsibility Energy. The center consists of a waterfront crew transfer training facility, a 25-foot crew transfer training vessel, and a facility for training in working at height. MMA began in 2019 offering GWO basic safety training, becoming the first in the U.S. to offer all five modules of GWO basic safety training for offshore wind.

The course includes modules about working at height, first aid, fire awareness, manual handlings, and sea survival. Instructors’ goals are to make workers familiar with wind industry work hazards and how to deal with them.

Three wind farms are in various stages of development in the Atlantic Ocean, about 20 miles south of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Those farms’ developers require the basic safety training course. “MMA has the experience to deliver this critical course, ensuring quality training to the people who will be out on open water building the wind turbines,” said Jenni Lewis, MD RelyOn Nutec Gulf of Mexico.

Members of Pile Drivers and Divers Local 56, the marine construction local of the North Atlantic States Carpenters Union, are taking advantage of the course. “This training is critical to our members,” said Dave Borrus, business manager of Pile Drivers & Divers Local 56. “The opportunity to work in the clean energy industry is great for our members but there are occupational risks, too. Safety must be at the forefront of each member’s mind,” said Borrus.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is sponsoring Local 56 members’ participation with a $100,000 workforce development grant.

Training consists of both classroom and practical exercises. Participants acquire knowledge and confidence by learning the practical skills they need through practice. Students learn the proper use of personal protective equipment, emergency equipment, and procedures with the end result being able to appropriately respond in the event of an emergency.

Capt. Mike Burns, Executive Director of the Academy’s MCRE, praised the maritime academy’s training. “Every group that has gone through the training has been exceptional. The participants are highly skilled professionals who understand the importance of safety in this industry. It’s our honor to help them prepare for the next phase in their careers,” Burns said.

MORE INFO  www.maritime.edu/professional-training/offshore-wind-training

Clean Power Quarterly 2021 Q2 Market Report, recently released by the American Clean Power Association (ACP), shows that U.S. project developers commissioned 5,620 MW of clean power capacity in the second quarter of 2021, a 13 percent increase over 2020’s second quarter volume.

Additions for the first half of 2021 totaled 9,915 MW, the highest record for new clean-power installations, representing a 17 percent increase in the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period last year.

The industry installed 2,226 MW of solar capacity in the second quarter, a 73 percent increase compared to the first quarter, bringing total new annual operating solar capacity to 3,513 MW. The wind sector installed 2,824 MW of new capacity in the second quarter of 2021, a 10 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Battery energy storage experienced the most dramatic quarterly increase with new installations of 570 MW surging 439 percent, new energy storage capacity in 2021 now totals almost 665 MW, nearly the 2020-year-end total.

“This market report shows the record growth across the renewable energy sector. With a record pace of installations in the first half of 2021 our industry not only provides good-paying jobs but also is a key part of solving the climate crisis,” said Heather Zichal, ACP CEO. “This growth and expansion are expected to continue, but we need policymakers in Washington to make long term decisions to ensure we can continue to develop these critical projects.”

Project owners commissioned a total of 56 new projects across 27 states during the second quarter, this includes 16 new wind projects, 30 utility-scale solar projects, seven energy storage projects, and three solar-storage hybrid projects, enough to power nearly 1.3 million American homes. The top five states for second quarter additions include Texas (1,489 MW), California (585 MW), Michigan (424 MW), Florida (373 MW), and Kansas (301MW).

In total, there are now more than 180,216 MW of clean-power capacity operating in the U.S, enough to power more than 50 million homes across the country and more than double the U.S. capacity just five years ago. This growth will continue; at the end of the second quarter, there were 906 projects totaling more than 101,897 MW of clean-power capacity under construction (37,725 MW) or in advanced development (64,172 MW) across the U.S.

The sector also saw continued clean-power procurement activity with power purchasers and project developers reporting 4,218 MW of new power purchase (PPA) in the second quarter, bringing the first half-year totals up to 7,700 MW. The quarter saw a continued shift to solar PPAs with more than 20 solar projects securing PPAs.

MORE INFO  cleanpower.org

Demand for wind farms will increase over the next decade, according to offshore wind analyst Zac Ward.

In 2020, spending on offshore renewable projects was higher than that of offshore oil and gas spending, by an estimate of $12 billion, with $43 billion for oil and gas and $56 billion for renewable energy.

Newly built vehicles and repurposed or upgraded supply vessels will meet the demand for wind farm installation and maintenance vessels.

While the global capacity for offshore wind farms is now at 25GW, that number will rise to 235GW by 2030, estimates say.

VesselsValue’s Orderbook shows that out of the renewable energy still on order, about half are for Europe and half are for the Far East.

The United Kingdom has the most wind farms installed, followed by Germany, China, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Asia, however, has the highest number of future plans for wind farms.

MORE INFO  https://blog.vesselsvalue.com/windfarm-vessels-in-increasing-demand/

Leosphere has launched WindCube Complex Terrain Ready, to deliver wind measurement in terrains from moderate to the most complex.

The offering includes Leosphere’s patented Flow Complexity Recognition (FCR) software, and the Computational Fluid Dynamics correction method to deliver accurate and trusted measurement.

“With wind energy being one of the fastest-growing sources of sustainable energy production, the location of wind farm development and operations have expanded to new and challenging environments,” said David Pepy, Leosphere’s head of renewable energy.

“This expansion into hilly, mountainous and other areas with varying levels of terrain complexity, make it challenging to collect trusted and precise wind measurements that illustrate what the wind is doing in these increasingly complicated locations. That’s where our solutions come in to ensure project operators realize precise data in all types of complex terrain,” Pepy said.

With WindCube Complex Terrain Ready, companies have easy access to both FCR and CFD correction services, empowering wind farm developers with accurate, reliable, bankable, and widely accepted wind flow data. The integrated FCR solution is appropriate for moderately complex terrain while CFD post-processing, available as an option through partnerships with wind energy leaders and consultants, is leveraged for more complex terrain. In some cases, customers use both FCR and CFD data to ensure the highest possible wind measurement outcomes.

The company has partnered with proven CFD industry leaders, including Meteodyn and WindSim, and wind energy consultants such as ArcVera, Deutsche WindGuard, DNV, Fraunhofer IWES, and UL, to ensure WindCube customers have access to the right CFD solution and industry expert support to meet their specific needs.

MORE INFO  https://www.vaisala.com/en/lp/windcube-complex-terrain-ready

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has published a request for information from the public and to determine interest from industries in offshore wind energy development in central California.

The areas involved are within the Morro Bay Call Area East and West Extensions, a 399-square-mile area of central California.

BOEM has also formally designated the Humboldt Wind Energy Area in offshore northern California, and will proceed with an environmental review of that area.

“If approved for offshore wind energy development, these areas could bring us closer to reaching this administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030,” said BOEM director Amanda Lefton.

“While we are still in the initial stages of BOEM’s leasing process, today’s announcement reflects years of working with ocean users, Tribal governments and local, state, and federal agencies to obtain the best available information to reduce potential conflicts,” said Thomas Liu, acting Pacific Region director of BOEM.

Offshore wind energy development can help California reach its goal of 100 percent carbon-free energy by 2045, as well as create good-paying union jobs, and foster investments in coastal communities. Offshore wind resources are typically stronger and more consistent than winds over land and are especially strong in the evening hours when solar energy production drops off, ensuring that offshore wind energy can make an important contribution to California’s electric grid.

The east and west extensions consist of about 141 square statute miles, or 90,025 acres.

BOEM published the call for information in the Federal Register on July 29, which started a 45-day public comment period.

The bureau also will use these comments as input for its consultation under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Additional information on how to comment can be found at https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/humboldt-wind-energy-area.

MORE INFO  https://www.boem.gov/newsroom/press-releases/boem-advances-offshore-wind-leasing-process-california

X1 Wind has made new appointments to help accelerate full-scale commercial operations.

New additions include Strategy and Business Development Director João Neves, Mechanical Engineer Javier G. Cervilla and Junior Structural Engineer Lucy Milde. The recruits come from a variety of backgrounds, including Boston Consulting Group, General Electric and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“Our new recruits will play an important role, helping to inform and accelerate our technical and commercial strategy,” said Alex Raventos, X1 Wind CEO and co-founder.

“Our overarching aim is to make a meaningful contribution to help combat climate change through large-scale decarbonization of the energy system. With this goal in mind, we have taken time to assemble a close-knit group of excellent engineers covering all core areas necessary to develop our innovative floating wind technology as well as experts on strategy and business development,” said Raventos.

X1 Wind’s technology is designed to reduce the current Levelized Cost Of Electricity (LCOE) of floating wind through reduced floater weight, a faster and cheaper installation process and a more reliable operation. The system is connected to a single point mooring system in a downwind configuration, which creates a “weather-vaning” solution that maximizes use of passive systems.

“I believe that we need to do everything we can to accelerate the energy transition, and floating wind has a massive potential to contribute to this goal. Nevertheless, it still requires innovation to become a competitive technology and that’s what we strive for at X1 Wind,” said Neves.

The team aims to be a world leader in floating wind, said Cervilla. “I couldn’t resist this rare opportunity to help redefine floating wind rules and indulge my passion for innovative solutions, which will underpin the future energy transition,” Cervilla said.

X1 Wind is a floating wind technology developer based in Barcelona, Spain. The company’s mission is to provide scalable solutions that deliver clean, affordable energy while reducing carbon emissions across the globe.

MORE INFO  www.x1wind.com

US Wind, the only offshore wind company that focuses exclusively on developing clean energy for Maryland, announced progress for its offshore wind plans, including labor agreements and an agreement for a new port facility.

The labor agreements with the Baltimore-D.C. Building and Construction Trades and IBEW will support current and future projects, including the 22-turbine MarWin, the company’s first offshore wind project in Maryland.

MarWin is expected to begin generating clean power in 2025, and will support 1,300 direct construction jobs in the state. US Wind is committed to using union labor for many of those jobs.

The port facility agreement with Tradepoint Atlantic sets up development for 90 waterfront acres. US Wind will initially invest $77 million into an offshore wind development hub there.

US Wind also announced plans to develop up to 1,200 more MW of offshore wind energy in addition to Momentum Wind, a project that will consist of 82 turbines, with the first phase coming online in 2026, and subsequent phases online in 2028. About 3,500 direct construction jobs will be created.

In conjunction with Momentum Wind, the company announced a proposal to bring steel back to Baltimore, for a new steel fabrication facility in Baltimore County at Sparrows Point Steel.

MORE INFO  https://uswindinc.com/momentumwind/

The boards of directors of the American Clean Power Association (ACP) and the U.S. Energy Storage Association (ESA) will merge the two trade associations to combine their staff, programs, and members.

The merger will bring together the diverse membership and talented team members of ESA with the resources and reach of ACP. Additionally, it will enhance the American Clean Power Association’s efforts to advocate for the economic and environmental advantages of the clean power economy and further position the renewable energy and storage industries for success as they move into a decade of transformative growth.

“Energy storage is foundational to a cleaner energy future for the country.” said Jim Murphy, president of Invenergy and the chairman of the board for ACP. “Joining together with ESA strengthens the unified voice of the clean power industry as we continue to transform the U.S. power grid to a low-cost, reliable and renewable power system.”

Launched at the start of 2021, the American Clean Power Association is a new trade association unifying the wind, solar, storage, and transmission companies driving jobs and investment in the U.S. economy and providing solutions to the climate crisis. The merger with ESA will be the second for ACP, following its merger with the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) in January 2021.

“Our board sees the merger with ACP as a powerful new chapter for our industry and a pathway to achieving 100 GW of new energy storage by 2030,” said Kiran Kumaraswamy, vice president of Market Applications at Fluence and the chairman of the board for ESA. “The ESA board of directors is confident that a merger will elevate advocacy, research, and educational efforts on behalf of the energy storage industry, with significant benefits and expanded opportunities for ESA’s staff and membership.”

ESA represents a diverse group of more than 200 companies involved in manufacturing, deploying, and operating energy-storage systems in the U.S. and around the globe. ESA’s membership comprises the full diversity of energy storage technologies and business models needed for a more resilient, efficient, sustainable and affordable electricity grid.

The merger will take effect January 1, 2022, subject to final approval from ESA’s members.

Vestas has received a 92 MW order to power an undisclosed wind project in the U.S. The project consists of 22 V150-4.2 MW turbines.

The order includes supply, transport, and commissioning of the turbines, as well as a multi-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement, designed to ensure optimized performance of the asset.

Turbine delivery will begin in the second quarter of 2022 with commissioning scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2022. The customer and project are undisclosed.

Vestas is the energy industry’s global partner on sustainable energy solutions. The company designs, manufactures, installs, and services onshore and offshore wind turbines across the globe, and with more than 136 GW of wind turbines in 84 countries, it has installed more wind power than anyone else. Through its industry-leading smart data capabilities and unparalleled more than 117 GW of wind turbines under service, Vestas uses data to interpret, forecast, and exploit wind resources and deliver best-in-class wind-power solutions. Together with its customers, Vestas’ more than 29,000 employees are bringing the world sustainable energy solutions to power a bright future.

MORE INFO  www.vestas.com

Dynamic Load Monitoring Ltd. of Southampton, U.K., has expanded its range of line tension measurement technology with a new device for measuring tension and creating holdback force on a single piece of subsea cable.

The product, which combines the established Saddleback product from DLM’s catalog with an additional hold back tension element, is being primarily used by the vessel NKT Victoria, with further devices in the pipeline for a number of customers.

When consulted about a solution for measuring line tension and creating a holdback force for a cable lay project, DLM, a specialist in the design, manufacture, repair, and calibration of load cells and load monitoring equipment, devised the saddleback holdback tensioner (SB-HBT).

The SB-HBT (450 kilograms) works by creating additional line tension on the subsea cable running through it, specifically for bundled cable lays. A saddleback can measure line tension from zero to 5,000 kilograms and is suited for more delicate cable, including telecommunication cables or large cable where a running line monitor is unsuitable. Moreover, a twin pair of Dunlop 18 x 7 SMO LCE tyres are connected to a hydraulic cylinder to clamp the two wheels together, and a disc braking system is used to control the rotational speed of the wheels on the SB-HBT. The device can create 750 kilograms of clamping force between the wheels and holdback 500 kilograms of line tension. On the top wheel there is an encoder to measure speed and distance.

“This is the first requirement we have had (for the SB-HBT), but we have discussed it with other potential customers; this seems to be a reoccurring problem aboard vessels,” said Chris Scrutton, technical manager at DLM. “It can be used when a cable-laying vessel is completing a new lay project and needs to control the departure speed to small diameter cables being bundled alongside larger cable diameters. The reason for doing this is that the small diameter cable often does not bundle tightly enough with the larger diameter cables and can run free of the bundle when departing off of the vessel.”

In this instance, NKT, a provider of turnkey cable solutions that meet the ever-growing demand for power, is using the SB-HBT on a 22-millimeter-diameter fiber optic cable. The “holdback” (holdback force is essentially a term for adding line tension to a cable) element of the device creates additional tension to control the departure speed of the cable for bundling with DC power cable prior to being laid subsea.

An Enerpac cylinder compresses the top and bottom wheel together to create grip pressure onto the cable before the brakes are employed to slowly rotate the wheels. Without clamping the two wheels together, the cable would simply run free. The (orange) HBT element houses all of the components, while the saddleback is the item bolted to the front of the frame.

“This was another project where we were approached by a client with a design brief to develop a product for their application,” Scrutton said. “NKT had a specific requirement for a device that could measure the line tension and create the holdback force. The concept went from a design discussion to a delivered product in less than six months.”

MORE INFO  www.dlm-uk.com

Green infrastructure developer Cerulean Winds has named NOV as the first of its delivery partners for the fabrication of its proposed integrated 200-turbine floating wind and hydrogen development off the coast of Scotland.

The arrangement would establish NOV as the exclusive provider of floating and mooring systems in support of the venture, which would have the capacity to accelerate the decarbonization of oil and gas assets in the UKCS by more than halving the 18 million metric tons of CO2 they currently produce by 2025.

NOV, one of the largest providers of marine equipment and wind-vessel designs in the world, has more than 20 years of experience in the offshore wind sector and unrivaled expertise in the installation and maintenance of floating structures in the energy space. Its participation as a delivery partner confirms the viability of Cerulean Winds’ trailblazing proposal.

Cerulean Winds is led by Dan Jackson and Mark Dixon, who have more than 25 years’ experience working together on large-scale offshore infrastructure developments in the oil and gas industry.

“We are very pleased to announce NOV’s involvement with the project,” Dixon said. “As the largest and most qualified provider of marine equipment and wind-vessel designs working in this space, the experience and knowledge they will bring to a project of this magnitude is second to none. Having them on board brings the scheme a step closer to reality. We have a number of Tier 1 delivery stakeholders signed up. We can’t disclose who they are at this stage, but they are some of the largest providers in the world, with the scale and capacity to deliver, and we look forward to making further announcements over the coming months.”

“We are very excited to partner with Cerulean on this groundbreaking proposal, which will leverage NOV’s core competencies as well as our U.K. and European infrastructure and personnel in a key energy transition project, which will drive major progress in the goal of decarbonizing the Offshore U.K. sector,” said Joe Rovig, president of NOV Rig Technologies. “NOV is eager to demonstrate our abilities as one of the key partners and household names in the global energy transition, just as it has been for decades in the traditional oil and gas industry.”

Targets set out in the recently published North Sea Transition Deal call for a reduction in offshore emissions by 10 percent by 2025 and 25 percent by 2027. To achieve that, preparatory work must begin now if those targets are to be met. Failure to do so undermines the objectives of the Deal.

If it gets the go-ahead, the £10 billion Cerulean Winds project has the capacity to generate enough power to electrify the majority of assets in the UKCS to meet and exceed those targets within the timescale.

However, the timing involved in gaining approvals for the project is critical. Cerulean Winds has submitted a formal request to Marine Scotland for seabed leases, and these must be granted by Q3 in 2021 to target financial close in Q1 2022 and to begin construction soon after so that the infrastructure is in place by 2024-2026.

To support this, the venture is calling on the Scottish and U.K. governments to make an “exceptional” case to deliver an “extraordinary” outcome for the economy and the environment.

“The U.K. has set world leading targets to progress energy transition, but to achieve them there must be a greater sense of urgency and joined up thinking,” Jackson said. “If assets don’t reduce their CO2 emissions by the mid-2020s, increased emissions penalties through carbon taxes will see many North Sea fields become uneconomical and move them toward decommissioning by the end of the decade at the cost of thousands of jobs. “That would seriously compromise the U.K. oil and gas industry’s role in homegrown energy security. It must remain a vital element in the transition journey for decades to come, but emissions have to be cut significantly to make the production greener.”

“This project will accelerate that process enabling assets to not only cut their emissions in line with targets but to greatly exceed them,” he said. “There are no other proposals currently in the pipeline with the scale and capacity to deliver that result, but to achieve it, the process must begin now, which is why a favorable decision on seabed leases by Q3 2021 is essential.”

The proposed development involves:

• More than 200 of the largest floating turbines at sites West of Shetland and in the Central North Sea with 3GWh of capacity, feeding power to the offshore facilities and excess 1.5 GWh power to onshore green hydrogen plants.
• Ability to electrify the majority of current UKCS assets as well as future production potential from 2024 to reduce emissions well ahead of abatement targets.
• 100 percent availability of green power to offshore platforms at a price below current gas turbine generation through a self-sustained scheme with no upfront cost to operators.
• The development of green hydrogen at scale and £1 billion hydrogen export potential.
• No subsidies or CFD requirements and the generation of hundreds of millions of pounds in government revenue via leases and taxation through to 2030 and beyond.

Cerulean has undertaken the necessary infrastructure planning for the scheme to ensure the required level of project readiness, targeting financial close in Q1 2022. The company is being advised by Société Générale, one of the leading European financial services groups, and Piper Sandler, corporate finance advisors to the energy industry.

MORE INFO  ceruleanwinds.com

Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainability (WRISE) launched its new Speakers Bureau today. The Speakers Bureau is a public, searchable database of qualified speakers willing to speak, present, and engage on renewable-energy topics.

The database will be an invaluable resource for conference and event organizers seeking to bring more diverse perspectives into the public discourse on renewable energy.

“For over a decade, WRISE has received requests for speaker recommendations,” said Kristen Graf, WRISE executive director. “Recently, conversations around conference diversity have picked up, and those requests have increased exponentially. In order to continue to innovate and evolve, it remains critical that we hear different ideas and perspectives. Renewable-energy conference organizers need to lead by example and showcase all of the amazing thinkers across our community. There are no excuses for having an all-male or all-white lineup — we know better and we can do better. Representation matters in every aspect of our industry, and I hope the Speakers Bureau becomes a go-to resource for conference organizers looking for talented speakers to elevate their programs.”

The Speakers Bureau is launching with more than 150 qualified individuals representing different technologies, markets, companies, and professional expertise and will be regularly updated with new speakers. The database is searchable by expertise including technical and non-technical topics related to solar and wind energy, renewable-energy policy, and sustainability.

As part of this initiative, WRISE is expanding the pool of qualified speakers on renewable energy and sustainability topics through a speaker training program. Those who wish to advance and practice their public speaking skills can sign up through the Speakers Bureau platform.

MORE INFO  wrisenergy.org/programs/speakers-bureau

Umbra Applied Technologies Group, Inc., a subsidiary Umbra Applied Technologies, recently announced that its proprietary, advanced wind turbine will begin undergoing field testing within the next 90 to 120 days.

Dubbed the V-HET, the high-tech vertical helix turbine is constructed of aluminum, carbon fiber, additional composite materials, and steel, making each unit robust enough to withstand the elements but light enough to harness the maximum amount of wind power. The technology uses a modified helix-shaped, wind-capturing design that increases the unit’s ability to harness more of the wind’s energy. The helix blades use an electromagnetic field to “float” the blades to reduce mechanical resistance and the loss of energy associated with the friction that plagues many modern systems in use. This enables the unit to generate power at extremely low wind speeds typically only common of much smaller units, while producing exponentially more energy.

Testing will also include the V-HET variant, V-HETp. The V-HETp or vertical helix turbine power station, harnesses energy from wind, solar, ambient temperature differentiation, and in-ground telluric currents. This is a significant leap forward in producing true clean energy using more than 75 percent recycled materials to manufacture each unit. The company estimates the carbon cost of delivering each unit to be a fraction of existing platforms.

An array of 12 units is estimated to produce as much as 85,500 kW/h of energy annually — about what seven average American homes burn in a year. A building’s electrical system will take the energy when it is available and switch to power from the local utility when it is not. The V-Het will cost a fraction of what many wind turbines currently in use do and are targeted to deliver more electricity than units similar in size.

“Units have been under development for several years and represent a paradigm shift in current wind-harnessing technology,” said UAT’s CEO, Alex Umbra. “I am optimistic that once delivered, this platform will represent a significant leap forward in the clean-energy segment.”

The company estimates this technology can cut the carbon emissions of a 10-story commercial building by about 2 million pounds annually and saving the equivalent of 44,000 gallons of gasoline each year.

The units will be tested in varying environments across the United States in a partnership that includes business owners that have been long-time shareholders. These shareholders have volunteered to assist in the testing and development process onsite, at their places of business, to include several automotive dealerships.

“From the moment we launched Hygiea-related products, we have included shareholders in the testing and development process in a shareholder-centric partnership,” Umbra said. “This partnership affords the company an opportunity to include our shareholders in a way that most companies do not. Who better to get feedback from than those that have a vested interested in the company’s success? With Helix (V-HET), the goal is to test the unit’s ability to not only capture energy but determine its ability to deliver that energy for the purposes of charging EV’s. This will assist in further reducing the carbon footprint of such vehicles and deliver true clean energy to charge them.”

MORE INFO  umbraappliedtechnologies.com

Maryland-based offshore wind developer US Wind, Inc. recently announced the deployment of a meteorological and oceanographic (metocean) buoy to collect wind and marine life data off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland.

Ocean Tech Services, LLC has been engaged to provide turn-key data services from the system, which include construction, testing, deployment, and operations of the buoy and associated sensors. The Floating Lidar buoy uses an eye-safe, continuous wave laser to measure wind speeds and direction across the turbine height. These measurements, along with surface meteorology and ocean condition observations, will help inform US Wind’s energy production estimates and overall project design. The buoy will also allow US Wind to collect an array of advanced environmental and wildlife data through sensors that enable the monitoring of bats, birds, fish, and other marine mammals to determine the presence, frequency, and distribution within the lease area. Subsets of the metocean observations will be posted publicly on US Wind’s website.

“The deployment of our metocean buoy is a critical milestone in our commitment to help meet Maryland’s renewable energy goals,” said Jeff Grybowski, US Wind CEO. “The data collected will advance our understanding of wind and wildlife patterns in our lease area to inform the most environmentally responsible and efficient design, project layout, and turbine siting.”

Cleanly powered by solar panels and wind turbines, along with an onboard fuel cell and battery back-up system, the buoy will be deployed within the lease area for two years.

“Ocean Tech Services is excited to work with US Wind during the site assessment phase of the Maryland wind energy area development,” said Stephen O’Malley, president of Ocean Tech Services. “As a locally-based service provider, OTS brings the experience, personnel, and equipment required to successfully complete the offshore data collection campaign.”

Baltimore City-based, family owned and operated, Moss Marine USA coordinated all local logistics for the work done at Tradepoint Atlantic, adding another layer of local content to the campaign. Chelsea Moss, founder of Moss Wind USA, a woman-owned Maryland business, served as on-site facilitator.

“I’ve been a long-time supporter of offshore wind development for several reasons, including the numerous business opportunities it provides to marine contractors like me,” said Michael Moss, owner-operator, Moss Marine USA. “We truly appreciate the opportunity to support US Wind on the metocean buoy campaign and look forward to providing assistance with US Wind’s efforts to build out their lease area in whatever way possible.”

“Having visited Denmark and witnessing the success of offshore wind overseas, I am extremely proud and inspired to be a member of the Lidar project team, helping US Wind gain the information they need to develop the MarWin project,” Chelsea Moss said. “This is a very exciting time to be working in offshore wind, especially for small, women- and minority-owned businesses in Maryland. I look forward to seeing turbines off Maryland’s coast upright and turning.”

The buoy deployment was staged out of Tradepoint Atlantic, one of the leading offshore wind ports on the east coast, located at Sparrows Point, Maryland. TPA’s facilities provided ideal accommodations for the safe and efficient assembly, port-side testing, and load-out of the buoy and associated equipment.

“The deployment of US Wind’s Lidar Bouy represents another step forward for offshore wind in Maryland, and further demonstrates that Baltimore and Tradepoint Atlantic continue to be the ideal hub for offshore wind in the Mid-Atlantic,” said Russell Williams, director of Offshore Wind Development for Tradepoint Atlantic.

US Wind acquired an 80,000-acre federal lease area off of the coast of Maryland in 2014. In 2017, the company was awarded offshore renewable energy credits (ORECs) from the State of Maryland for the first phase of its MarWin project. In total, the company’s lease area can support approximately 1.5 GW of offshore wind-energy capacity. In 2019, Maryland passed the Clean Energy Jobs Act, which increased the state’s offshore wind-energy requirements, calling for an additional 1.2 GW to be procured from developers with projects near the state’s coast.

More info: uswindinc.com

Mayflower Wind and Anbaric Development Partners recently announced they have signed an agreement for Mayflower Wind to use transmission assets developed by Anbaric to bring offshore wind to Brayton Point.

Mayflower Wind will bring clean offshore wind energy from its federal offshore energy lease area to Brayton Point, which will lay the foundation for the broad repowering of Brayton Point.

Brayton Point’s robust grid infrastructure and waterfront location make it an ideal interconnection location for offshore wind. The Mayflower Wind offshore wind-energy project will use state-of-the-art high voltage direct current technology that minimizes marine cabling, reduces energy losses, and strengthens the New England grid. Over the past three years, Anbaric has taken steps to develop the site as an optimal location to integrate offshore wind into the New England electric grid. Throughout that time, there have been many collaborative conversations between Anbaric and Mayflower about the electrical connection that would be a key element in the regeneration of Brayton Point.

When fully built out, and with continuing advancements in wind technology, Mayflower Wind’s lease area will supply more than 2,000 MW of offshore wind, enough to power nearly a million homes. Mayflower Wind’s use of the existing grid connection will help set in motion the development of supporting infrastructure at Brayton Point needed to revitalize the former coal plant site and enable Somerset and the South Coast to benefit from the rapidly expanding offshore wind industry. This cable landing in Somerset will supplement Mayflower’s long-standing and continuing efforts in Falmouth on Cape Cod.

“Mayflower Wind is committed to helping Massachusetts and New England achieve their ambitious clean-energy goals,” said Mayflower Wind CEO Michael Brown. “The transmission infrastructure at Brayton Point initially developed by Anbaric, and now owned by Mayflower, will help us make those goals a reality. We look forward to collaborating with the community as we invest in and develop this project to bring clean energy to Brayton Point and beyond.”

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Mayflower Wind to bring our unique expertise to scale offshore wind and achieve renewable energy goals,” said Anbaric CEO Clarke Bruno. “Brayton Point is a unique site to bring offshore wind to our shores while also bringing infrastructure investment and responsible development to the local community.”

For 50 years, Brayton Point was home to the 1,600-MW coal-fired Brayton Point Power Station, the largest coal-fired power plant in New England and the last in Massachusetts. The plant was closed in 2017, and in 2019, Anbaric presented a vision to create a Renewable Energy Center on the site of the shuttered plant. One aspect of that vision was bringing power ashore at Brayton Point — Mayflower Wind is now moving to translate that element into reality.

Mayflower Wind is continuing with its efforts in Falmouth, Massachusetts, to connect its first 804-MW project into the New England electric grid via the Cape Cod interconnection point.

“Massachusetts just issued its third solicitation to bring up to another 1,600 MW of offshore wind online,” Brown said. “Mayflower Wind looks forward to delivering on the Commonwealth’s commitments to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Our position at Brayton Point only strengthens our efforts to provide additional clean offshore wind energy to New England.”

More info: www.mayflowerwind.com

Caption:

Mayflower wind project infrastructure. (Courtesy: Mayflower Wind)