Nexans has signed a preferred supplier agreement (PSA) with Empire Offshore Wind LLC to electrify the future of New York State by connecting the Empire Wind offshore projects to the onshore grid.

The turnkey projects cover the full design and manufacturing, as well as the laying and protection of more than 300 kilometers of export cables that will deliver renewable energy to more than 1 million homes.

Empire Wind is being developed by Equinor and BP through their 50/50 strategic partnership in the U.S. Empire Wind is planned for an area of 80,000 acres, in federal waters, an average of 33 kilometers south of Long Island, east of the Rockaways.

Two cable systems will connect the offshore substation for Empire Wind 1 to landfall and substation in Brooklyn, New York. In contrast, Empire Wind 2 will link to Long Island by three parallel cables.

“We are excited to be a trusted, long-term supplier on the development of the Empire Wind projects and to participate in placing New York State on the way toward reaching 70 percent of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2030,” said Christopher Guérin, CEO of Nexans. “This partnership demonstrates the value of our unique end-to-end model and supports our investments in U.S. offshore wind and the new state of the art Aurora cable-laying vessel. Nexans is engaged in ‘Electrifying the Future’ and supporting all our stakeholders on the path to greener energy.”

Nexans is leading the charge to the new world of electrification — safer, sustainable, renewable, decarbonized, and accessible to everyone. As electrification specialists, Nexans enables the offshore wind industry to electrify the future by harnessing the power of wind.

MORE INFO  www.nexans.com

Ardian, a world leading investor in renewable energy, has partnered with leading software-as-a-service firms Greenbyte and Pexapark on a major upgrade to its digital asset management systems for its 3.5-GW-plus renewable energy portfolio.

Working directly with the teams at Greenbyte — a software platform designed to optimize renewable energy production across global portfolios — and Pexapark — a business that sets out to evolve the “operating system” for post-subsidy renewable energy management — Ardian Infrastructure has set out to implement a future-proof end-to-end renewable energy monitoring online platform that will help it and the management teams of its renewable platforms to create additional value and monitor technical and market risks in tandem.

These risk management goals are growing in significance and urgency for investors and operators as the renewables sector worldwide transitions into a new phase of operation; 10 years ago, most projects benefited from long-term subsidies. Today, the removal of subsidies across many markets means asset revenues and price risk must be actively managed through power purchase agreements (PPAs) and other revenue hedging mechanisms.

“Increasing exposure to the volatility of the ‘merchant’ power market is driving a fundamental shift in the way we look at and manage our portfolio for our investors,” said Mathias Burghardt, Head of Ardian Infrastructure. “On the one hand, we need to place greater emphasis on optimizing production to extract as many megawatt hours of clean power as possible from our assets. On the other, we must build our energy sales and risk management best-in-class expertise to control and hedge our financial exposure and stay on top of market dynamics to capture the best windows of opportunity.”

As Ardian continues to expand its renewables portfolio across Europe, the U.S., and Latin America, seeking further investment opportunities in its core markets while considering their transition out of subsidies, Ardian Infrastructure with its digital and data science team has taken a pioneering approach to digitizing its operating models.

By integrating Greenbyte’s asset monitoring and management platform, the Ardian Infrastructure team aims at being able to oversee and benchmark technical performance across its portfolio, covering three markets in Europe, five markets in the U.S., and two in Latin America.

“Full transparency on asset performance is a hugely powerful tool, and Greenbyte gives Ardian and its management teams a means of creating accountability, not only with its own investors, but also with regional operations & maintenance (O&M) teams and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),” said Jonas Corné, CEO, Greenbyte. “This data will help Ardian incentivize performance and value creation activities across the portfolio, as well as hold other parties to account during contractual negotiations.”

For the European portfolio, production data from Greenbyte feeds directly into Pexapark’s “operating system” of energy revenue and risk management tools, which provide a comprehensive and transparent view on the realized market value of Ardian’s renewables assets in Europe, while constantly assessing the long-term value, risk and performance of the entire portfolio, and energy contracts.

This powerful combination of technical, revenue, and energy risk data is already enabling Ardian Infrastructure to undertake important portfolio-wide analysis, including a target of “revenue-based availability” calculations that can be used to optimize and schedule maintenance programs for periods of low production and low prices. In the longer-term, it will help the team to build a renewables portfolio that is optimized to manage the full range of market risks in the “new world” of renewable energy operation.

“Ardian Infrastructure’s pioneering approach to building its arsenal of digital tools for post-subsidy energy sales and risk management is quickly setting it apart in the market,” said Luca Pedretti, COO, Pexapark. “The Ardian team shows that, with the right ‘operating system’ in place, nimble renewable energy funds can reimagine their models to rival even the traditional utilities who benefit from decades of energy trading expertise.”

MORE INFO  www.ardian.com

Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), recently announced DEME Offshore US LLC will serve as its contractor for the offshore transport and installation of the wind-turbine generators for its Vineyard Wind 1 project, the first large scale offshore wind installation in the United States.

DEME Offshore US LLC is teaming up with FOSS Maritime Company LLC, a US maritime service contractor that provides union jobs for its employees. FOSS will provide the Jones Act compliant feeder vessels, a concept by which the wind turbines will be transported from the port of New Bedford to the specialized DEME Offshore US LLC installation jack-up vessel. The DEME Offshore US LLC office in Massachusetts will be the base of operations for activities for the Vineyard Wind project.

“We’re very excited to make this announcement … not only because it’s an important step in the development of our first project but also because of the impact it will have on the U.S. workforce,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Lars T. Pedersen. “The offshore wind industry has tremendous potential to create good paying jobs and investment opportunities while also reducing carbon pollution. By working with companies like DEME Offshore US LLC and FOSS Maritime, we can ensure that US labor is gaining from the experience of well-established operators, so that the industry can take proper root and grow a fully American workforce.”

“DEME Offshore US LLC is proud to work together with Vineyard Wind on the start of a new era in the U.S. offshore wind market,” said Jan Klaassen, Director DEME Offshore US LLC. “The partnership of DEME Offshore US and FOSS Maritime brings our expertise about offshore wind and U.S.-related activities together, which is the cornerstone of a successful solution. Our method is Jones Act compliant, driven by high-tech engineering, patented solutions, and special adaptions to both companies’ vessels for this project. The deployment of the U.S. feeder concept by the DEME Offshore US/FOSS Maritime Team will create a great opportunity for U.S. mariners to get familiar with the offshore wind industry.”

“Beginning in 1889, we have provided our fleet of highly capable tugs, deck cargo barges, marine engineering staff, experienced project managers, and highly trained mariners to work on complex marine projects in harsh environments,” said Will Roberts, president of Foss Maritime. “We appreciate the opportunity to work closely with DEME Offshore US LLC in support of the Vineyard Wind project.”

“This announcement is great news for our region and, in particular, for the hard-working men and women in the maritime trades,” said Gerard Dhooge of the Seafarers International Union and president of the Boston & New England Maritime Trades Council, AFL-CIO. “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a new industry that will help middle-class families and those trying to make it to the middle class. With partners like Vineyard Wind, DEME Offshore US, and FOSS Maritime partnering with organized labor, we can and will create a more prosperous future for people in the New Bedford region and throughout Massachusetts.”

Located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Vineyard Wind 1 is slated to become the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States. With a generating capacity of 800 MW, the project will provide significant benefits to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by providing clean electricity to power more than 400,000 homes, creating thousands of good paying jobs, and reducing electricity rates by $1.4 billion over the first 20 years of operation. The project is also expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.68 million metric tons annually, the equivalent of taking 325,000 cars off the road each year.

Vineyard Wind is expected to reach financial close in the second half of 2021 and begin delivering clean energy to Massachusetts in 2023.

MORE INFO  www.vineyardwind.com

The Biden administration has set a U.S. target of 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and aims to complete environmental reviews of at least 16 offshore wind projects by 2025 in a major set of policies and pledges announced by the White House March 29.

The offshore wind target is more ambitious than the target of 30 GW by 2035 set by the U.S. wind industry. President Joe Biden wants to create a new clean-energy economy, and the new measures will accelerate the transition to large-scale offshore wind projects and help to create thousands of jobs on the East and West coasts.

U.S. offshore wind capacity lags far behind Europe, but project development is booming. Congress recently agreed to a new 30-percent investment tax credit (ITC) for offshore wind farms, providing greater certainty for investors. Earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) completed its final environmental impact statement (EIS) for Vineyard Wind, the U.S.’s first large-scale offshore wind project.

U.S. offshore developers have warned of a growing queue for environmental approvals at BOEM, a division of the Department of Interior (DOI). The Biden administration has already issued an executive order for faster approvals, and BOEM now plans to complete the reviews of “at least 16 construction and operations plans (COPs) by 2025, representing more than 19 GW,” the White House said.

BOEM will also “advance new lease sales” and has created a new offshore wind development area in the New York-New Jersey Bight, a shallow water area between Long Island and New Jersey, it said. Following a public consultation, BOEM will tender for leases in the Bight in “late 2021 or early 2022,” it said.

Offshore wind developers, component suppliers, and transmission builders will also gain access to $3 billion of loan guarantees to help scale up capacity, after the Department of Energy (DOE) reopened its Loan Programs Office in March, the administration said. Power industry figures have urged East Coast U.S. states to set plans for onshore and offshore grid networks to accommodate waves of offshore wind build. The Biden administration will also offer $230 million of federal funding to port authorities to support offshore wind infrastructure.

By 2030, the U.S. offshore wind industry could employ 44,000 workers directly and support 33,000 additional jobs, the White House said.

Today, the White House convened leaders from across the administration to announce a set of bold actions that will catalyze offshore wind energy, strengthen the domestic supply chain, and create good-paying, union jobs.

National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg met with state officials, industry executives, and labor leaders to announce new leasing, funding, and goals that employ President Joe Biden’s whole-of-government approach, position America to lead a clean-energy revolution, and create thousands of jobs across the country with the choice to join a union.

In his first week in office, President Biden issued an executive order that calls on the nation to build a new American infrastructure and clean-energy economy that will create millions of new jobs. In particular, the president’s order committed to expand opportunities for the offshore wind industry. The president recognizes that a thriving offshore wind industry will drive new jobs and economic opportunity up and down the Atlantic Coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in Pacific waters. The industry will also spawn new supply chains that stretch into America’s heartland, as illustrated by the 10,000 tons of domestic steel that workers in Alabama and West Virginia are supplying to a Texas shipyard where Dominion Energy is building the Nation’s first Jones Act compliant wind-turbine installation vessel.

Federal leadership, in close coordination with states and in partnership with the private sector, unions, and other key stakeholders, is needed to catalyze the deployment of offshore wind at scale.

The administration is taking coordinated steps to support rapid offshore wind deployment and job creation:

• Advance ambitious wind-energy projects to create good-paying, union jobs.
• Investing in American infrastructure to strengthen the domestic supply chain and deploy offshore wind energy.
• Supporting critical research and development and data-sharing.

Announcing a new wind-energy area

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing a new priority wind-energy area in the New York Bight — an area of shallow waters between Long Island and the New Jersey coast — that a recent study from Wood Mackenzie shows can support up to 25,000 development and construction jobs from 2022 to 2030, as well as an additional 7,000 jobs in communities supported by this development. The study indicates the New York Bight lease area also has the potential to support up to 4,000 operations and maintenance jobs annually and approximately 2,000 community jobs in the following years. This new wind-energy area is adjacent to the greater metropolitan Tri-State area — the largest metropolitan population center in the United States that is home to more than 20 million people and their energy needs. The next step is for BOEM to publish a proposed sale notice, followed by a formal public comment period and a lease sale in late 2021 or early 2022.

Establishing a target of employing thousands of workers to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030

The Departments of Interior (DOI), Energy (DOE), and Commerce (DOC) are announcing a shared goal to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind in the United States by 2030, while protecting biodiversity and promoting ocean co-use. Meeting this target will trigger more than $12 billion per year in capital investment in projects on both U.S. coasts, create tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs, with more than 44,000 workers employed in offshore wind by 2030 and nearly 33,000 additional jobs in communities supported by offshore wind activity. It will also generate enough power to meet the demand of more than 10 million American homes for a year, and avoid 78 million metric tons of CO2 emissions.

DOI action to unlock deployment potential

To position the domestic offshore wind industry to meet the 2030 target, DOI’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) plans to advance new lease sales and complete review of at least 16 construction and operations plans (COPs) by 2025, representing more than 19 GW of new clean energy for our nation.

Massive supply chain benefits of deploying offshore wind energy at scale

Meeting the 2030 target will catalyze significant supply chain benefits, including new port upgrade investments totaling more than $500 million; one to two new U.S. factories for each major wind-farm component including wind-turbine nacelles, blades, towers, foundations, and subsea cables; additional cumulative demand of more than 7 million tons of steel — equivalent to four years of output for a typical U.S. steel mill; and the construction of four to six specialized turbine installation vessels in U.S. shipyards, each representing an investment between $250 million and $500 million.

2050 implications of meeting the 2030 goal

Achieving this target also will unlock a pathway to 110 GW by 2050, generating 77,000 offshore wind jobs and more than 57,000 additional jobs in communities supported by offshore wind activity — all while creating further economic opportunity and ensuring future generations have access to clean air and abundant renewable power.

Advancing critical permitting milestones for the Ocean Wind offshore wind project

BOEM is announcing a notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for Ocean Wind, putting it in line to become America’s third commercial scale offshore wind project. Ocean Wind has proposed an offshore wind project with a total capacity of 1,100 megawatts (MW) — enough to power 500,000 homes across New Jersey. BOEM previously announced environmental reviews for Vineyard Wind (Massachusetts) and South Fork (Rhode Island), and anticipates initiating the environmental reviews for up to 10 additional projects later this year.

Investing in port infrastructure to support offshore wind

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Maritime Administration announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity for port authorities and other applicants to apply for $230 million for port and intermodal infrastructure-related projects through the Port Infrastructure Development Program. Port infrastructure development grants support projects that strengthen and modernize port infrastructure and can support shore-side wind energy projects, such as storage areas, laydown areas, and docking of wind-energy vessels to load and move items to offshore wind farms. In addition to supporting the nation’s long-term economic vitality, DOT’s review process will consider how proposed projects can most effectively address climate change and environmental justice imperatives.

Access to $3 billion in debt capital to support offshore wind industry through DOE loan programs office

DOE’s loan programs office (LPO) released a fact sheet to facilitate access for the offshore wind industry for $3 billion in funding through LPO’s Title XVII Innovative Energy Loan Guarantee Program. The fact sheet signals that LPO is open for business and ready to partner with offshore wind and offshore transmission developers, suppliers, and other financing partners to scale the U.S. offshore industry and support well-paying jobs. To date, LPO has provided $1.6 billion in support of projects totaling about 1,000 MW of onshore wind.

Announcing offshore wind R&D funding through the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium

The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC), created by the DOE and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), is announcing the award of $8 million to 15 offshore wind research and development projects that were selected through a competitive process. The new projects will focus on offshore support structure innovation, supply chain development, electrical systems innovation, and mitigation of use conflicts that will help reduce barriers and costs for offshore wind deployment. The NOWRDC was established in 2018 with a $20.5 million DOE investment, matching funds from NYSERDA, and with follow-on contributions from state agencies in Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Maine — all resulting in a total investment of about $47 million.

Partnering with industry on data-sharing

The Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is signing a memorandum of agreement with Ørsted, an offshore wind-development company, to share physical and biological data in Ørsted-leased waters subject to U.S. jurisdiction. This agreement is the first of its kind between an offshore wind developer and NOAA and paves the way for future data-sharing agreements that NOAA expects to enter into with other developers. NOAA anticipates that Ørsted’s and other companies’ data will fill gaps in ocean science areas — particularly in ocean mapping and observing — in service of NOAA’s mission to advance climate adaptation and mitigation, weather-readiness, healthy oceans, and resilient coastal communities and economies.

Studying offshore wind impacts

NOAA’s Northeast Sea Grant programs, in partnership with DOE, DOC, and NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center, is releasing a request for research proposals to support more than $1 million in grant funding to improve understanding of offshore renewable energy for the benefit of a diversity of stakeholders, including fishing and coastal communities. Grant funding will support objective community-based research in the Northeast to further understanding of the effects of offshore renewable energy on the ocean and local communities and economies as well as opportunities to optimize ocean co-use.

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) issued a statement after the Biden administration’s announcement, along with complementary initiatives to achieve the federal objective.

“This is an historic day for offshore wind energy in America,” said Heather Zichal, ACP CEO. “The Biden administration’s ambitious, but achievable, goal of 30 GW by 2030 sets the stage for a brand-new home-grown energy industry that will slash carbon emissions, create 83,000 American jobs, and add $25 billion in annual investments into our economy by the end of this decade. Creating a stable policy platform for offshore wind development and facilitating the first wave of significant projects will provide certainty for the industry, strengthen the workforce, and revolutionize domestic supply chains up and down the coasts and across the country. Now is the time to seize on this once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

The Crosby Group is established as a global lifting, rigging, material handling, and mooring hardware partner to the renewable energy sector, and has one of the most extensive, global engineering teams in the industry.

Its product range combines to cover the entire wind-energy supply chain, including the plate clamps, pipe hooks, and shackles used during monopile fabrication, shackles for topside and subsea lifts, and load cells used for inspection of installed equipment.

One example of how The Crosby Group supports the offshore wind industry was recently demonstrated by an order for chain accessories from Crosby|Feubo. These were used for a floating offshore wind-turbine (FOWT) project from a European client.

The scope of work included the design, manufacturing, and testing of long-term mooring shackles. Driven by a project timeframe restriction from the client and given a three-month window of opportunity, the package was successfully delivered on-time and within initial budget. The Crosby Group’s experienced and skilled engineering team with more than three decades of experience with this application delivered the chain accessories, complete with extensive in-house machining and testing.

Also of note, The Crosby Group recently launched into the wind-energy market the HFL Kenter, a new high fatigue life shackle, under the Crosby|Feubo brand. The shackle showcases design improvements on the popular Crosby|Feubo NDur Link, an accessory used for temporary and mobile mooring applications such as rigging and anchoring offshore platforms or vessels. The product can connect to a variety of stud link anchor chain or other mooring accessories such as sockets and swivels.

“We recognize the importance of offshore wind in the renewable energy transition, and we are well positioned to support OEMs, contractors, and channel partners with our wide and deep portfolio of lifting, rigging, and mooring hardware and expertise through our marketing leading Crosby, Gunnebo Industries, Straightpoint, and Feubo brands,” said Richard Berg, business development manager at The Crosby Group.

Another example of how The Crosby Group recently supported the offshore wind industry is with the delivery of turnbuckles for a leading wind-turbine OEM to be used at Kriegers Flak wind farm outside of the coast of Denmark. Despite the tight delivery schedule, the company delivered 700 turnbuckles to be used together with wire slings to tighten both sides of tower sections, ensuring they don’t ovalize during transport and storage.

The Crosby Group also provides connectors for anchors, chains, wire rope, and synthetics as well as a variety of other components that are used in many applications by oil and gas and renewable energy professionals.

Another key focus area for the group is offering easy access to broad expertise and raising awareness of the importance of a well-trained workforce. Leveraging a worldwide network of 3,000-plus regional distributors, The Crosby Group supports end users through its breadth of product range, product availability close to the point of use, and a strategic commitment to vertically integrated manufacturing. Vertical integration provides complete control of the manufacturing process from raw material to finished goods to produce the highest quality hardware, further enabling safe and efficient lifting operations.

MORE INFO  www.thecrosbygroup.com

EDF Renewables, a market-leading independent power producer, has selected Reygar Ltd., the leading provider of innovative remote monitoring and reporting platforms to the offshore wind industry, to power the establishment of a transparent, data-based approach to efficiency and safety across its operations. Reygar’s BareFLEET system has now been fully commissioned on an EDF-chartered crew transfer vessel (CTV) working across EDF’s European offshore wind portfolio.

In response to the uptick in demand for support vessels to service Europe’s flourishing offshore wind industry, forward-thinking project owners and vessel operators are increasingly committing to working together to ensure that no trip is wasted due to technician sickness or cut short due to mechanical failure. By deploying BareFLEET to collate in-depth health and performance data from across the vessel’s critical equipment, Reygar will provide the CTV operator and EDF with the insight they need to guarantee high levels of safety and vessel availability.

BareFLEET automatically monitors the health and performance of all critical equipment across each vessel, inclusive of engine health, fuel consumption, motion, and impact onto the turbine, transmitting this data to the shore team and relevant stakeholders via the cloud. The crew can also supplement BareFLEET’s digital reporting platform by manually inputting their observations in context, providing full visibility over activity on board the vessel and the factors that influence it.

“Comprehensive data monitoring and reporting has a fundamental role to play in limiting vessel down-time, guaranteeing the maintenance of safe, comfortable conditions for both crew and technicians, and supporting a mutually beneficial relationship between project owner and support vessel operator,” said Chris Huxley-Reynard, managing director, Reygar Ltd. “By commissioning Reygar, EDF has invested in guaranteeing that the technicians who work on their projects are fit to work on arrival while the CTV operator can deploy this data to ensure vessel availability is maximized, allowing them to take on as many projects as possible.”

“EDF is committed to deploying pioneering technology that will power Europe toward the achievement of its renewable energy goals; our partnership with Reygar is therefore a natural next step in that journey,” said James Wilson, area manager, EDF Renewables. “We will be working directly with Reygar to collate enhanced high-frequency motion data for our own in-depth analysis, with the aim of increasing our understanding of how motion affects crew and technician comfort.”

MORE INFO  www.reygar.co.uk

ONYX InSight, a leading provider of data analytics and engineering expertise to the global wind industry, has cemented its presence in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, following the demonstrable success of its Brisbane office after its first year of operations.

Joining offices in Chennai and Seoul, Brisbane marks the third regional hub for APAC, serving as a base to deliver its flexible, full-service offer in support of the growing wind-energy industry across Australia and New Zealand.

With OEMs accounting for almost half of the service market in Australia and New Zealand, demand is high for independent service providers (ISPs) that can bring a tech-agnostic approach to data analytics in order to drive greater turbine performance and increased returns on investment.

Recognizing this challenge, ONYX InSight has developed significant partnerships in the Australia/New Zealand region, resulting in a 15 percent market share for software and 10 percent share for hardware, through the successful installation of its pioneering advanced sensing technology, ecoCMS, and roll out of its condition monitoring software platform fleetMONITOR, complete with user-training. This has been bolstered with 4G communications for the simplification of data transfer, enabling greater access to a broader turbine network.

The consolidation of advanced data sensing technology and monitoring software has been instrumental in identifying machinery faults sooner, leading to improved predictive maintenance plans. With longer lead times of six to 12 months to plan for repairs, owners and operators are better placed to optimize maintenance strategies and streamline procurement.

“We are proud to be supporting the increased share of renewables within the APAC energy mix, in line with the climate change targets,” said Ashley Crowther, Global VP, ONYX InSight. “Our physical presence in Australia over the last year has already made a significant impact in our ability to support our local partners, enabling us to provide on the ground support and training in-line with our advanced monitoring services.”

“With our current monitoring capacity upwards of 370 MW across Australia and New Zealand growing, we are continuing to support asset owners to better manage their projects through the modernization of equipment in order to extract better quality data,” he said. “Joining up the dots between the existing and improved data with the latest in predictive analytics software will enable owners and operators to get ahead of machinery failures to ensure that fleets continue to operate at peak efficiency and profitability.”

MORE INFO  www.onyxinsight.com

Brüel & Kjær Vibro (B&K Vibro), one of the leading worldwide independent suppliers of condition monitoring solutions for rotating machinery, has been acquired by NSK, a global organization specializing in researching, designing, and manufacturing motion and control solutions.

NSK’s portfolio of products and technologies enhance automotive performance and industrial productivity, while reducing energy consumption. As the leading supplier of bearings in Japan and the third largest supplier in the world by market share, NSK employs approximately 30,000 people in more than 200 locations across 30 countries, alongside a vast network of joint ventures and partnerships.

NSK has been developing condition monitoring systems (CMS) for internal and field use for decades. Having identified the market need and opportunity to put CMS technology directly in the hands of customers, NSK established a Condition Monitoring System Development Center in April 2019 to create solutions to help customers manage the health of their machinery. To accelerate this initiative, NSK has acquired B&K Vibro, who will be empowered to lead NSK’s global CMS business development as a new autonomous unit within the NSK organization, as NSK grows to become a global leader in condition monitoring.

“I am excited to welcome all of B&K Vibro’s valuable team members to the NSK group,” said Toshihiro Uchiyama, president and CEO, NSK. “Condition monitoring systems and services are a growing market, and B&K Vibro is the current and future leader in this industry. By combining B&K Vibro’s expertise with NSK’s strength as a global leader in the bearing industry with more than 100 years of accumulated knowledge and experience across a range of applications, our two companies will create even more value for society.”

“B&K Vibro is truly honored to become a part of NSK, a company that has set out to become a leader in condition monitoring,” said Marcel Van Helten, CEO, B&K Vibro. “The synergies between our companies are evident, and with the combination of the talent and the knowledge residing within our companies, we will together be able to deliver exciting, innovative business and engineering solutions for our customers. We look forward to enhancing the NSK CMS business platform and accelerating growth in the burgeoning CMS market.”

MORE INFO  www.nsk.com

The Alfa Laval company and world-leading pump manufacturer Framo will supply pumping systems for foundations of Scotland’s largest offshore wind-farm project.

It is the second order for pumping systems in this application and marks an important milestone as it applies the company’s extensive experience from the offshore industry to renewable energy applications.

The order from Saipem, a global leader in engineering, drilling, and construction in the energy and infrastructure sectors, comprises Framo pumping systems. They will be used in a so-called suction bucket technology in the installation of Seagreen, Scotland’s largest offshore wind park. Once finalized, it will include 114 turbines producing 1,075 MW to supply 1.3 million households with low-carbon energy. Framo pumping system technology will secure and safely anchor the wind turbine platforms to the seabed.

“This second order for our Framo pumping systems used in suction bucket foundations to wind farms is an important milestone for us as it cements our position in this application and takes our long-proven and validated technology from offshore oil platforms to renewable applications,” said Sameer Kalra, president of the Marine Division in Alfa Laval. “Our knowledge and experience from delivering innovative and reliable products to the offshore industry is now also making a difference within renewable energy, to the benefit of our customers and the environment.”

Suction anchor technology has an environmentally friendly footprint. Besides lowering costs due to the increased installation speed, the concept provides for easy decommissioning and a practically noise-free installation.

The technology of suction and bucket foundation has secured and safely anchored platforms and offshore installations around the world since the 1990s. Now, the concept of bucket foundation has been adapted for offshore wind-turbine foundations. Framo is meeting the market demand by offering complete pumping systems required for the installation of the turbine foundations.

MORE INFO  www.framo.com

ZX Lidars recently confirmed the appointment of Dr. Steven White as director of Turbine Mounted Lidar as the company scales in market sectors including wind turbine integrated Lidar Assisted Control and non-integrated Lidar for wind-turbine/wind-farm optimization.

Having previously led Senvion’s engineering EU North team and with a PhD in laser optics, White combines technical knowhow with practical turbine experience.

Lidar technology, which displaces the use of met masts for wind resource assessment onshore and offshore, provides look-ahead wind characteristics to validate, monitor and optimize wind-turbine performance on both existing and new turbines for the purpose of increased energy output and lifetime extension.

“Innovation, quality, and collaboration are at the heart of the ‘ZX-way,’ and this unique mix is an ideal recipe to bridge the gap between Lidar and turbine technology” White said. “I passionately look forward to closing that gap through customer-focused improvements in operational wind resource understanding and turbine performance, validation, lifetime operations, and control.”

“On our 18th anniversary of installing the world’s first nacelle-mounted Lidar on a Nordex N90 turbine, it is perfect timing for Steven White to join ZX Lidars as we see a now mature technology providing real performance benefits to wind-farm owners, operators, and turbine OEMs,” said ZX Lidars Managing Director Ian Locker. “We have exciting news to share on Lidar Assisted Control this year, and Steven will be spearheading this and all turbine Lidar activities across the business.”

Recent turbine Lidar announcements from the company include:

• The 105-MW Högaliden Wind Farm featuring Vestas V150-4.2 MW turbines will include nacelle-based ZX TM wind Lidars on each turbine.
• Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy approval of ZX TM for Power Performance Testing of wind turbines.

ZX Lidars provides industry-leading wind Lidar products, ZX 300, ZX 300M, and ZX TM for wind energy and meteorological applications. These Lidars deliver accurate wind measurements in both onshore and offshore applications at measurement heights/ranges across the full swept area of the blades of modern wind turbines and beyond. With more than 30 million hours of operation in the field and more than 7,000 deployments (and counting), ZX Lidars has pioneered the use of Lidar in the wind industry. The company is proud of the many world firsts it has achieved with customers including: upwind measurements from a turbine nacelle, turbine wake studies, offshore deployments of both fixed and floating wind Lidar, an industry-accepted validation process, re-financing and re-powering of a wind farm, successful demonstration of measurement accuracy in a wind tunnel, and total wind project financing from a Lidar without need for a met mast.

MORE INFO  www.zxlidars.com

Ocean Wind International believes integrated oil companies will look to pair their expertise in offshore engineering with cutting-edge turbine innovation.

Hong Kong-based floating wind power generation pioneer Ocean Wind International Industrial Limited has told investors that global integrated oil companies eager to diversify revenue streams will increasingly aim to pair their expertise in offshore engineering with the latest developments in wind-turbine technology.

The company made its claim during an investor meeting, at which it reported good progress on a series of bids it has made on several international government and private tenders. Ocean Wind International said that, with the global transition toward cleaner power generation, many large oil majors are seeking to reduce their reliance on fossil fuel production but also to capitalize on their decades of experience in offshore engineering.

“Wind power generation — particularly in deep-water regions — is an area in which the majors have pushed the boundaries of what is possible,” said Jeremy Fitzroy, Ocean Wind International’s chairman and CEO. “They’ve moored floating oil platforms in some of the most inhospitable conditions on Earth, and they want to remain relevant in a changing world. Deploying that experience in deep water floating wind power generation gives them a chance to do that so we can expect more interest in from them in terms of acquisition overtures in the months and years ahead.”

The announcement comes as Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell recently concluded the purchase of a majority stake in Simply Blue Energy’s Emerald Project, a floating wind farm in the sea off the south coast of Ireland.

“These companies have ambitious targets for achieving net-zero emissions, and floating wind power gives them a good chance of reaching that goal,” Fitzroy said.

Brüel & Kjær Vibro (B&K Vibro), one of the leading worldwide independent suppliers of condition monitoring solutions for rotating machinery, has launched VIBROSTORE 100, a palm-sized device that provides vibration level and bearing wear monitoring for balance-of-plant machines at the push of a button.

The lightweight device can be used single-handedly and enables even untrained personnel to take vibration measurements and assess a semi-critical machine’s overall vibration condition. The instrument is equipped with a pre-set cable-connected high-quality B&K Vibro acceleration sensor. Once the type and size of the machine based on ISO 10816 and its running speed are entered, a one-button push can perform the measurement. A traffic-light display immediately indicates the severity of the vibration based on the built-in ISO 10816 alarm limits (velocity in mm/s or in/s). The main screen also shows the rolling-element bearing condition in bearing damage units measurement (BDU) and total g (RMS acceleration). The display of the vibration level in frequency ranges indicates the most common machine faults, such as imbalance, misalignment, or looseness.

“Whereas critical and semi-critical machinery is usually equipped with an online protection system to avoid catastrophic damages, it is often too difficult and costly to install an online condition monitoring system on every semi-critical machine,” said Florian Endres, commercial platform leader, B&K Vibro. “With a combination of B&K Vibro quality and extremely competitive pricing, the VIBROSTORE 100 fills the gap in detecting the most common machine faults and delivers quick, reliable and cost-efficient machine health monitoring for semi-critical and balance-of-plant machines.”

VIBROSTORE 100 is available either as stand-alone or packaged with the B&K Vibro Report & Route Manager software, a powerful and highly functional route editor and analysis software.

MORE INFO  www.bkvibro.com/vibrostore-100

Avangrid Renewables recently completed commissioning of the 154.8 MW Tatanka Ridge Wind Farm January 5, 2021. The facility’s 56 wind turbines are in Deuel County, South Dakota, northeast of Brookings.

The facility is owned by Tatanka Ridge Wind, LLC, which is jointly owned by Avangrid Renewables and WEC Energy Group.

Dairyland Power Cooperative has a power purchase agreement with Tatanka Ridge Wind, LLC for 51.6 MW of renewable energy. Dairyland’s portion of Tatanka Ridge’s output will deliver enough renewable energy to power approximately 16,000 homes. The balance of the project’s generation is contracted to a large commercial customer.

“Dairyland is pleased to work with Avangrid Renewables and WEC Energy Group on an efficient and sustainable facility that supports our transition to a lower carbon future,” said Brent Ridge, Dairyland President and CEO. “Diversification of resources is a key element of Dairyland’s Sustainable Generation Plan, making Tatanka Ridge a valuable addition to our cooperative’s renewable energy portfolio.”

Dairyland and Avangrid Renewables have collaborated twice before on wind-energy facilities, Barton Wind (Kensett, Iowa) and Winnebago Wind (Thompson, Iowa).

“Avangrid Renewables has been pleased to work with Dairyland Power to make Tatanka Ridge a reality,” said Alejandro de Hoz, president and CEO of Avangrid Renewables. “Partners such as Dairyland have helped to build the wind industry in the Midwest and drive the transition to a clean energy future.”

Tatanka Ridge encompasses approximately 18,000 acres of primarily corn and soybean farms and cattle ranches, leased from more than 100 landowners. Between land lease payments and taxes, the wind farm will provide $1.7 million in local economic benefits annually over the life of the project.

In July 2020, Avangrid Renewables announced the sale of an 85 percent ownership interest in Tatanka Ridge Wind, LLC, to WEC Energy Group of Milwaukee. This transaction closed in December 2020.

MORE INFO  avangridrenewables.com

As a member of the RE100 initiative, Vaisala, a global leader in weather, environmental, and industrial measurements, has achieved its target to use 100 percent renewable electricity by the end of 2020.

The goal covered all Vaisala’s facilities with significant energy consumption around the globe and was reached with the combination of self-produced clean energy in Finland and the United States as well as green electricity from local energy companies. Among Finnish companies, Vaisala is the first technology company and second overall to achieve the RE100 target. In total, 17 companies in the Nordics have committed to RE100.

Sustainable solutions and business practices have always been at the core of Vaisala. In 2015, Vaisala joined RE100, the Climate Group’s global initiative encouraging the world’s most influential companies to make a 100 percent renewable electricity commitment within a clear timeframe. Vaisala set the target to use 100 percent renewable electricity in its facilities by the end of 2020.

“As the environmental and economic impacts of climate change increase, we need to implement different mitigation practices,” said Kai Öistämö, president and CEO of Vaisala. “We see that the private sector needs to be a key driver of change and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Therefore, I am proud to say Vaisala has achieved the important goal of using 100 percent renewable electricity.”

“By rapidly switching to 100 percent renewable power, Vaisala is leading by example and showing it makes business sense — even in these challenging times,” said Mike Peirce, Corporate Partnerships Director at the Climate Group. “Vaisala’s success will inspire others to strive for the same goal and walk the talk on sustainable technologies — if we’re to halve emissions this decade, there’s no time to lose.”

Following the initiative, Vaisala took several actions to ensure 100 percent renewable electricity in its facilities with significant energy consumption. In total, 14 Vaisala facilities around the world are powered by renewables. The target was achieved with a combination of self-produced energy and green electricity products purchased from local energy companies.

About 94 percent of the electricity that Vaisala’s facilities consume comes directly from renewable sources, mainly from wind power. This 94 percent comprises Vaisala’s largest facilities, where it is possible to affect consumption with self-produced energy and local green energy. For instance, Vaisala’s manufacturing sites in Finland and the United States use solar panels to produce clean energy.

The remaining 6 percent consists mostly of small office facilities where Vaisala is not the sole proprietor of the building and therefore cannot directly choose to consume renewable electricity. This remaining part was covered by purchasing unbundled renewable energy attribute certificates from the market. An energy-attribute certificate is a market-based instrument that proves that 1 MWh of renewable energy has been produced in the same region. With these certificates, Vaisala was able to cover electricity consumption on those sites that cannot negotiate their own electricity contracts.

Throughout its 85-year history, Vaisala has created innovations that help to build a better future by mitigating environmental impacts but also adapting to them. Vaisala’s solutions for weather and environment as well as for industrial sectors help customers to make smart decisions concerning weather events and the use of energy and other resources. For instance, wind-energy operators and biogas producers can get reliable measurement data on their operations and thus produce sustainable energy efficiently. In this way, Vaisala helps to increase the amount of and access to clean energy globally.

“The positive handprint of our business is formed through our multitude of measurement solutions,” Öistämö said. “We are strongly involved in the renewable energy industry through our customers, but it is also essential that we advance the use of renewable energy sources in our own operations. By ensuring that our facilities consume 100 percent renewable electricity, we can also decrease our own carbon footprint and contribute to a more sustainable future.”

MORE INFO  vaisala.com

Combining more than 100 years’ experience in energy, green finance, and M&A across its senior team, NeXtWind recently launched its strategy to become Europe’s next major green independent power producer (IPP).

Backed by established sustainable investors including Crestline Investors, Ferd, and ARB Investment Partners, the company will initially seek to acquire and rejuvenate older, most likely teenage, wind parks in Germany.

Working with local communities and partners to bring new life, higher performance, and shared benefit to existing sites, NeXtWind’s strategic goal is to acquire and transform a portfolio in excess of 1GW of end-of-regulatory-life European assets.

“The older wind sites tend to have the best locations but the worst efficiencies,” said Ewald Woste, NeXtWind CEO. “We’ve assembled the expertise and funding to ensure that these sites are not lost to a diminishing baseline of clean power. Indeed, with smart investment and management, we expect to double the average wind harvest from these pioneering parks. With Germany phasing out coal and nuclear generation, this is important work.”

“The energy transition must keep moving forward and an increasingly important ingredient to that will be the rejuvenation of Europe’s early green energy parks,” said Lars Meyer, Chief Investment Officer at NeXtWind. “In Germany alone, we estimate that some 15 GW of teenage onshore wind capacity will soon need to navigate today’s market complexities and determine a proactive plan for a future that looks very different to the present. It’s an extremely fragmented market in need of consolidation, modernization, and significant investment.”

With an active M&A pipeline already in place, NeXtWind was expected to complete the acquisition of its first sites soon. Acquired sites will either be repowered or undergo lifetime extension works.  The company is negotiating framework agreements with some of Europe’s largest utilities in order to facilitate the signature of future Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

MORE INFO  www.nextwind.de/home-en.html

In support of the Biden administration’s goal to address climate change and promote offshore renewable energy production, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently announced it intends to resume the environmental review of Vineyard Wind’s proposed offshore wind project.

“Offshore wind has the potential to help our nation combat climate change, improve resilience through reliable power, and spur economic development to create good-paying jobs,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton. “BOEM is committed to conducting a robust and timely review of the proposed project.”

BOEM will resume the environmental review of the Vineyard Wind Project and proceed with development of a Final Environmental Impact Statement.

On January 22, 2021, Vineyard Wind submitted a letter rescinding its temporary Construction and Operations Plan (COP) withdrawal and requesting that BOEM resume review of the 800-MW wind-energy project offshore Massachusetts. The proposed project would be about 12 nautical miles offshore Martha’s Vineyard and 12 nautical miles offshore Nantucket in the northern portion of its lease area. Vineyard Wind had paused the Department’s consideration of its proposal while it reviewed whether the use of Haliade-X turbines warranted any modifications to their COP.

President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order on January 27, 2021, that called for the Interior Department to identify steps to accelerate responsible development of renewable energy on public lands and waters. Interior has initiated a review of processes and procedures to date as it re-invests in a rigorous renewable energy program.

MORE INFO  www.boem.gov/vineyard-wind

The offshore wind sector should invest now in new technologies to transform operational practices and ensure continued growth, or risk losing out on significant immediate savings, and over the coming decades, too.

This is according to ONYX InSight, a leading provider of data analytics and engineering expertise to the global wind industry, who recently released a new whitepaper outlining the key challenges and opportunities for the offshore wind industry in the short, medium, and long term.

Offshore wind faces a tough landscape where strike prices are low and margins are being squeezed. The industry has made great strides in reducing the LCOE by increasing turbine size and streamlining the supply chain. However, ONYX InSight has found there is huge potential to achieve further significant efficiencies without entering into a race for the biggest turbine or the lowest parts or service contracts costs.

Drawing on its experience in offshore wind, ONYX InSight has pinpointed several prospects for the industry. In the short-term, optimizing logistics will deliver significant savings for operators due to new advances in digital O&M. Addressing “minor” repairs, accounting for up to 50 percent of total maintenance costs, will also deliver significant efficiency gains. With more oversight on asset health, owners and operators can prioritize their O&M work and implement more effective condition-based scheduled maintenance.

Another key finding from ONYX InSight’s whitepaper is offshore wind stands to gain significantly from life extension. However, the greatest savings will only materialize if life extension strategies are established early in asset lifecycles. By using the latest diagnostics to inform life extension, the right predictive maintenance program can extend useful asset life by 25 percent. This comes together with a wider adoption of new digital tools to streamline data collection and aid training, easing the skills gap.

According to ONYX InSight’s report, the offshore wind industry is set to prosper in the long term but must first adopt a collaborative supply chain wide approach to data. From optimizing turbine design for the reality of operations to enabling large collaborative maintenance zones with clustered O&M strategies, advances in data analytics can potentially revolutionize the sector over the next decade. But this will be unlocked only through sharing data with trusted partners, instead of letting it sit unused.

“The offshore opportunity is huge,” said Bruce Hall, CEO of ONYX InSight. “We are proud to support the industry as it continues to break new ground, and now, it’s time for the next wave of innovation. Exciting opportunities such as floating wind are within grasp. Our whitepaper has picked out a course to successfully reduce O&M costs and boost profits in offshore operations, envisioning a future where added capacity from new assets is bolstered by continued digital enhancements to the growing global fleet.”

“There’s not one cure-all solution to the challenges offshore wind must overcome,” said Evgenia Golysheva, head of engineering at ONYX InSight. “But there’s great cause for optimism. The sector has seen a renewed boost in interest, investment, and political support and is set to expand rapidly into large new markets such as the U.S. and Asia. With the right advice, owners and operators can put relatively simple changes into place now to save money, while laying a strong foundation for the working practices of the future.”

MORe INFO  onyxinsight.com/offshore-wind-whitepaper

Vestas has secured a 90 MW order from new customer Ålandsbanken for the Murtomaki wind project.

The project comprises 15 V162-6.0 MW turbines maximizing the yield under the permitted tip height and a 30-year active output management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement. Leveraging the upgraded rating of the EnVentus platform, the tailored solution is designed to ensure an industry-leading level of energy production for the lifetime of the project at a highly competitive levelized cost of energy.

Winning the second deal with the upgraded V162-6.0 MW wind turbines, Vestas reinforces its presence in Finland’s wind market and surpasses 600 MW in orders of EnVentus turbines in the country.

“Murtomäki wind farm with Vestas turbines is the first investment of the newly established Wind Power Fund of Ålandsbanken,” said Juha Känkänen, investment director of Ålandsbanken Funds. “We would like to thank the Vestas team for its efforts in bringing down the levelized cost of energy and constructive approach during contract negotiations.”

The project has been developed by YIT Suomi Oy and will continue to be a part of their project development process until completion in 2023.

“This project strongly supports our climate goals, since the Murtomäki wind farm produces an amount of renewable domestic electricity that is equal to the consumption of approximately 15,000 single-family houses annually,” said Harri Kailasalo, EVP, Infrastructure Projects, YIT. “During the construction and production period, the project also has a significant positive economic impact on the town of Pyhäjärvi.”

“I would like to thank our new, well-established business partners Ålandsbanken and YIT Suomi Oy for the trust they placed in us,” said Nils de Baar, president of Vestas Northern & Central Europe. “We are certain that the competitiveness of the V162-6.0 MW turbine together with the key focus on Finland and our long-term service offering ensures maximum value for our customer’s business case.”

The contract includes supply, installation, and commissioning of the wind turbines as well as a VestasOnline® Business SCADA solution, lowering turbine downtime and thus optimizing the energy output.

Turbine delivery is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2023, while commissioning is planned for the third quarter of 2023.

MORE INFO  www.vestas.com

GEV Wind Power recently announced the appointment of John Leahy to the Board of GEV Wind Power.

Leahy is a seasoned private equity executive with leadership experience across various disciplines enjoying an outstanding record of value enhancement across well-known companies including the luxury travel brand Tumi and Rank Hovis McDougall, owner of brands such as Hovis bread, Bisto gravy, and Mr Kipling cakes.

As chairman, he led the transformation and growth of LM Windpower from a local producer to the global No. 1 wind-turbine blade manufacturer with a turnover of 1.2 billion euros, producing approximately 20 percent of the world’s installed rotor blades.

“We are delighted to welcome John to the Board of GEV, bringing his 12 years of experience leading LM Wind Power to our organization,” said David Fletcher, CEO of GEV Wind Power. “We look forward to John helping us to shape our growth strategy going forward, with the aim of achieving our goal of being the global partner of choice to our clients, for all blade maintenance requirements.”

“I am thrilled to be re-engaging in the wind-energy sector and to have the opportunity to continue my focus on rotor blades and being part of the transformation of this area of maintenance over the coming years, as the industry continues to consolidate and mature,” Leahy said. “GEV is well supported and has an excellent platform to lead this process, and I am looking forward to working with David and his team.”

An independent service provider of blade-maintenance services, GEV Wind Power is recognized as one of the leading blade maintenance operators across its core markets of Europe and North America. GEV’s service offerings vary from straight forward surface conditioning to complex structural repairs using a range of access methods.

MORE INFO  www.gevwindpower.com