Offshore Wind Turbines Need To Be Standardised, Energy Transition Industrialised To Reach Targets, Says Siemens Energy VP For Western Europe
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Governments need to move from talking about policies to implementation, the offshore wind industry needs to employ standardisation, and clear rules and regulations need to be set for green hydrogen in order to move faster with large-scale deployment and achieve meaningful progress in limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The guy has a point, as mass production of anything is generally more efficient and creates more units in a given time.
But can a diverse group of politicians, agree on a standard for turbines, fixed foundations, floaters, cables and sub-stations and then make sure all are identical and clip together like Lego? I doubt it!
And how would you fit innovative designs like TwinHub into a standard.
This image shows one of their TwinHub turbine installations being towed into place.
At least it could be built to hold two standard turbines.
Crown Estate Accelerates Celtic Sea Floating Offshore Wind Surveys
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The Crown Estate has announced the awarding of the first contracts for its first major investment in surveys to help with the construction of floating offshore wind farms in the Celtic Sea.
These two paragraphs describe the contracts.
Contracts have now been signed for the initial phase of metocean surveys, which look at wind, wave, and current patterns, to begin in Spring 2023. The Crown Estate is progressing the procurement of the remaining surveys over the coming weeks and months, subject to further commercial discussions.
By investing in these surveys at an early stage and making the data freely available to successful bidders, the Crown Estate is aiming to accelerate the delivery of the projects, making it easier for developers to take early decisions and manage risk while supporting future project-level Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) as part of the planning process.
It looks like a good idea to me, as it could make the bidding process much quicker and bidders with special expertise may be able to get contracts more suited to their expertise.
Rolls-Royce And Gulfstream Give Wings To Sustainable Business Aviation
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Rolls-Royce.
These are the first two paragraphs of the press release.
Rolls-Royce and Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. are leading the way towards sustainable business aviation by conducting the first original equipment manufacturer test flight of an ultralong-range business jet powered by 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The test took place on the BR725-powered Gulfstream G650 twin-jet over Gulfstream’s headquarters in Savannah, Georgia.
Demonstrating that current Rolls-Royce engines for business jet and large civil applications can operate with 100% SAF as a full “drop-in” option, this test lays the groundwork for moving this type of fuel towards certification. At present, SAF is only certified for blends of up to 50% with conventional jet fuel and can be used on all current Rolls-Royce engines.
Note.
- The BR725 is described in this Wikipedia entry.
- The Gulfstream G650 is described in this Wikipedia entry.
- All current Rolls-Royce engines can run with blends of up to 50 % SAF and conventional jet fuel.
The BR725 or other engines in the family have other applications.
- It is used in the Bombardier Global Express.
- It was used in the Boeing 717 airliner.
- The military version of the BR725 will be used to re-engine the USAF’s Boeing B52-H Stratofortresses.
- The Dassault Falcon 10X will be powered by a development of the BR725.
I can certainly see, the owners of business jets being very interested in operating a sustainable business jet.
But would the USAF be interested in running a seventy-year-old bomber on 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel?
The Fuel Used In The Test
This paragraph of the press release describes the fuel.
The SAF that was used in the test consists of two components: HEFA (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids), produced from waste fat and waste plant oils by low-carbon fuel specialist World Energy in Paramount, California, and (SAK) Synthesised Aromatic Kerosene made from waste plant-based sugars by Wisconsin-based Virent Inc. This innovative and fully sustainable fuel in development eliminates the need for the addition of further petroleum-based components and enables a 100% drop-in SAF that can be used in existing jet engines and infrastructure without any modifications. This sustainable fuel has the potential to reduce net CO2 lifecycle emissions by about 80% compared to conventional jet fuel, with the possibility of further reductions in future.
That sounds impressive.
A Sustainable Airliner
The Boeing 717 is a hundred seat airliner, with about a hundred still in service. They appear to have a good safety record.
One of the operators is Hawaiian Airlines and might be the sort of airline, that would like to decarbonise their flights.
So might we see some airlines using the Boeing 717 on SAF to attract passengers?
I wouldn’t rule it out and after certifying the engine on the Gulfstream, certification on another type wouldn’t be the most demanding of certifications.
I also think, it is quite likely, that an aircraft manufacturer could use engines in the BR 725 family to create a hundred seat sustainable airliner.
The Anonymous Widower 