Fugro To Monitor Offshore Wind Biodiversity By Using eDNA Samples
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Dutch geo-data specialist company Fugro has launched the BeWild project, aimed at measuring biodiversity at offshore wind farms.
I have a feeling that this fishing-for-DNA technique could have lots of uses, including some very unusual ones.
The article is worth a detailed read and Fugro and their partners certainly seem to be doing a full investigation.
These three paragraphs list the partners and the things they will provide or research.
Support will be provided by Wageningen University which will focus on the DNA sequencing methodology of marine eDNA, researching the governance of these new forms of automated data collection to provide guidance on the design principles for the expansion of nature-inclusive wind energy infrastructures.
Additionally, Stichting de Rijke Noordzee will explore how to integrate biodiversity monitoring with regular asset inspection; Mecal – ATS will develop an improved scour protection system with the potential to enhance biodiversity; Seekable will optimise cable burial monitoring solution; and CrossWind will provide access to an operational wind farm for testing and investigations.
The BeWild project is being developed with the Mission-driven Research, Development, and Innovation (MOOI) subsidy from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, and implemented by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).
It certainly appears very comprehensive.
Ørsted Posts All-Time High Offshore Wind Earnings
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
World’s leading offshore wind developer, Ørsted, has reported DKK 6.9 billion (EUR 926 million) operating profit (EBITDA) for the first quarter of 2023, DKK 2.5 billion less compared to the same period a year earlier.
For those, who are sceptical about offshore wind, these results must surely pour cold water on your views.
The profits also appear to have in part been driven by the commissioning of the Hornsea Two wind farm.
Three Players Pursuing Floating Offshore Wind Opportunities At Barents Sea Oil Field
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Norwegian oil and gas company Vår Energi has entered into a collaboration with a consortium consisting of Odfjell Oceanwind and Source Galileo to explore opportunities for floating offshore wind through a pilot project at a field located in the Barents Sea off Norway.
The article mentions the Goliat oil field, which is located 85 kilometres (53 mi) northwest of Hammerfest.
This Google Map shows the location of Hammerfest.
Note.
- Hammerfest is marked by the red arrow.
- Hammerfest is the northernmost town in the world with more than 10,000 inhabitants.
- The furthest North, I’ve been in Europe is to Trondheim, which is in the South-West corner of the map.
- To the East of Hammerfest Norway and Russia have a common border and beyond that is the Russian port of Murmansk.
Many years ago, my first visits to Ipswich Town were courtesy of the Official Receiver for Ipswich; John Richardson, who was my parents’ next door neighbour in Felixstowe.
John was an interesting guy, who during the Second World War had been on the Arctic convoys to Murmansk and Archangel. The Wikipedia entry for Arctic Convoys Of World War Two, gives some details.
His descriptions of the weather in the area were horrendous and it makes me wonder why the Norwegians want to extract oil in those conditions. And now generate wind power.
This is the first sentence of the article.
Vår Energi disclosed the deal on Wednesday, 26 April 2023, explaining that the project, called GoliatVind, was a pilot project to demonstrate new, Norwegian offshore wind technology.
So is it all about new technology?
Oceans of Energy To Build Offshore Solar Array At Hollandse Kust Noord Offshore Wind Park
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Oceans of Energy has been awarded the contract for installing and operating offshore solar farm inside the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind park being developed by CrossWind, a joint venture between Shell and Eneco.
This is the first paragraph.
This is set to be the first offshore solar farm in the world to be connected, installed, and operated within a wind farm in high wave conditions. The offshore solar farm will be realized in 2025, while the wind park will be operational by the end of 2023, according to Oceans of Energy.
These are some other points from the article.
- It looks like the solar will be floating.
- The wind/solar farm will have offshore battery storage.
- Green hydrogen will be generated offshore.
This wind/solar farm will be all things to all men and women.
Moray West First UK Round 4 Offshore Wind Project To Reach Financial Close
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Moray West Offshore Wind Farm, owned by Ocean Winds and minority shareholder Ignitis Group, has secured GBP 2 billion of non-recourse project finance and reached financial close, the developers announced on 21 April and said this was the first project from the UK’s Contract for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 4 to reach this milestone.
This is the first paragraph.
The construction work for the wind farm has already started, with this phase of the project set to create 1,000 direct jobs in the UK. With financial close in place, the project will now move to secure the remaining elements of supply chain activity in preparation for offshore installation works later this year which will be fully completed by 2025, when the 882 MW Moray West is scheduled to be fully operational.
That sounds good for Scotland and electricity users in the UK.
But this paragraph is probably the most important.
According to its developers, the 882 MW offshore wind farm is the first in the UK to rely in majority on corporate power purchase agreements (CPPAs) for the commercialisation of its output. CPPAs were signed with long-term strategic partners, for more than 50 per cent of the project’s output, enabling the rapid progress of the project. The vital CPPAs were originated in partnership with ENGIE and represent the largest contracts of their kind implemented in the UK market to date, Ocean Winds said in a press release.
There’s not much point in making something that nobody wants to buy at the price you need for a profitable sale.
But with all those CPPAs, one of which is with Google, Moray West wind farm appears to be on his way.
Thor Offshore Wind Farm To Feature Siemens Gamesa’s Newly Launched GreenerTowers
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Siemens Gamesa has revealed its GreenerTower, a wind turbine tower made of more sustainable steel. The company already closed its first order with RWE to feature 36 of the GreenerTower units at the 1 GW Thor offshore wind project in Denmark.
This is the first paragraph.
Today, tower production accounts for more than one-third of all wind-turbine-related CO2 emissions, according to Siemens Gamesa.
Siemens Gamesa’s new GreenerTower will ensure a CO2 reduction of at least 63 per cent in the tower steel plates compared to conventional steel.
Siemens Gamesa also claim this.
If all towers installed by the company in one year were exchanged with GreenerTowers, it would be the same as removing more than 466,000 cars from the roads in Europe for a year.
The first supplier to be qualified is Salzgitter AG.
- I wrote about Salzgitter’s green steelmaking in WindH2 Hydrogen Project Commissioned In Germany.
- Only a maximum of 0.7 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions are permitted per tonne of steel while maintaining the same steel properties and quality.
- Salzgitter’s electric furnaces will be fed with green electricity produced by renewable energy sources.
- Salzgitter AG have recently signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Iberdrola.
- It looks like Salzgitter AG are going both the electric and hydrogen route to green steel.
I suspect over the next few years, we’ll be seeing more steel products made with green steel.
In this case, I suspect that Siemens Gamesa could use the same production process with very little modification, which is a great advantage.
World’s Largest-Of-Its-Kind Power Line To Deliver Clean Power To 1.8m UK Homes And Boost Energy Security
The title of this post, is the same as that as this press release from the UK Government.
These are the three bullet points of the press release.
- LionLink power line between UK and Netherlands will deliver enough electricity to power more homes than Manchester and Birmingham combined.
- Agreement made as Grant Shapps leads delegation of leading businesses to key North Sea Summit.
- Part of renewed Government drive to work with business to help grow the economy.
These three paragraphs outline the project.
The world’s largest multi-use electricity power line will be built under the North Sea, boosting UK energy supplies with enough to power 1.8 million homes – more than Birmingham and Manchester combined.
The new LionLink will connect the UK and the Netherlands with offshore wind farms, providing clean affordable and secure energy to Britain which will help cut household bills and drive Putin’s Russia further out of the energy market.
The cross-border electricity line will be only the second of its kind in the world, with the first having been built by Germany and Denmark. However, it will be able to carry more than four times the amount of electricity as its predecessor – making it the largest of its kind in terms of capacity anywhere in the world.
Note.
- I suspect the LionLink will go via the Dogger Bank, where Danish, Dutch, German and UK territorial waters meet an we are already building 8 GW of fixed foundation offshore wind. The other countries are also active in the area.
- The press release doesn’t mention, where the LionLink will make landfall in the UK.
- Much of the connection will probably use the cables being laid for the Dogger Bank wind farms.
- There is also no mention of the North Sea Wind Power Hub, which could be an artificial island on the Dogger Bank.
There is also a press release on the National Grid web site, which is entitled National Grid And TenneT Collaborate On Proposed First-Of-A-Kind Anglo-Dutch Electricity Link, which gives more details.
- The capacity is stated to be 2 GW.
- Like the current BritNed interconnector, the project will be a cooperation between National Grid And TenneT.
- TenneT is a limited liability company owned by the Dutch government, that is a transmission system operator in the Netherlands and in a large part of Germany.
There is also a diagram, showing how the LionLink will work, which includes these components.
- On the Dutch side, there is an offshore AC>DC Converter Station, which is connected to the Dutch electricity grid and one or more offshore wind farms.
- Across the border between the Dutch and UK Exclusive Economic Zones, there will be a HVDC cable.
- The HVDC cable will terminate in an onshore DC>AC Converter Station in the UK, which will be connected to the UK electricity grid.
No details of the two landfalls have been given.
More information is given in this article on offshoreWIND.biz, which is entitled UK And Netherlands Unveil Multi-Purpose Interconnector Plans.
- This shows a map of the North Sea with an interconnector running in a straight line between possibly Rotterdam and Bacton in Norfolk.
- A wind farm is shown connected to this interconnector.
This paragraph describes the windfarm and the interconnector.
LionLink, a multi-purpose interconnector that was announced today at the North Sea summit, could connect a Dutch offshore wind farm with a capacity of 2 GW to both countries via subsea interconnectors.
If the wind farm has a capacity of 2 GW, I would assume it can supply up to 2 GW to the UK and The Netherlands.
This is a classic system, that can be optimised by the application of sound principles.
All electricity generated by the wind farm must be used, stored or converted into green hydrogen.
Electricity will be distributed as to need.
Energy storage or electrolysers could be sited at either end or even in the wind farm.
I would suspect that more wind farms could be connected to the interconnector.
The team, that write the control system for the grid will have a lot of fun!
BritNed
I have a feeling that National Grid and TenneT have taken a long hard commercial look at the electrical and financial performance of BritNed over the last year and decided, that a second connection would be to the mutual benefit of both companies, their customers and the UK and The Netherlands in general.
It would also be twice as difficult for terrorists sponsored by Putin to cut two cables.
Conclusion
This is a great leap forward for wind power in the North Sea and Europe.
Norway Has Room For 338 GW Of Offshore Wind, New Analysis Finds
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Norway has the potential to develop up to 338 GW of offshore wind in areas with a low level of conflict, according to a new analysis performed by Multiconsult and commissioned by the industry organisation Norwegian Offshore Wind, Equinor, Source Galileo, Hafslund and Deep Wind Offshore.
These two paragraphs are the main findings of the report.
The report, issued on 14 April, maps 28 areas as suitable for floating wind and 18 areas for fixed-bottom offshore wind, estimating the total potential installed capacity to be 241 GW at 5 MW/km2 and 338 GW at 7 MW/km2.
Of this, floating wind could account for 156 GW and up to 219 GW, while fixed-bottom capacity is between 85 GW and 119 GW.
So how does that figure look for the UK?
Consider.
- The UK has an Exclusive Economic Zone of 773,676 sq. kilometres.
- But if you include overseas territories, the UK’s area is 6,805,586 sq. kilometres and is the fifth largest in the world.
- Norway has an Exclusive Economic Zone of 2,385,178 sq. kilometres.
So taking the 338 GW figure for Norway and ignoring overseas territories, we could generate 109.6 GW.
World’s First Unmanned HVDC Offshore Platform Installed At World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from the Dogger Bank wind farm web site.
These are the two bullet points.
- Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be first UK High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) connected offshore wind farm
- 70% reduction in topside weight per MW for offshore platforms
These are my thoughts.
High Voltage Direct Current
Wikipedia has an excellent entry on high voltage direct current, which is commonly referred to as HVDC.
The news item says this about how the electricity is brought ashore from the Dogger Bank wind farm.
The innovative offshore platform has a lean design and is the first unmanned HVDC platform which will be operated from shore and accessed only by a Service Operations Vessel. The platform will receive 1.2GW of AC power from Dogger Bank A’s 95 offshore wind turbines and convert it to DC, which will then be sent ashore to an onshore convertor station near Beverley in East Riding of Yorkshire.
Fitted with Hitachi Energy’s latest generation HVDC converter technology, Dogger Bank will be the first offshore wind project in the UK to use this technology to transmit the electricity produced back to shore, ensuring that the electricity is transmitted efficiently over long distances while minimising losses.
Note.
- Wind turbines generate AC.
- There will be conversion to DC on the substation and conversion back to AC onshore.
- It should also be noted, that large undersea interconnectors are generally built around HVDC technology.
Wikipedia says this about the advantages of DC transmission.
A long-distance, point-to-point HVDC transmission scheme generally has lower overall investment cost and lower losses than an equivalent AC transmission scheme. HVDC conversion equipment at the terminal stations is costly, but the total DC transmission-line costs over long distances are lower than for an AC line of the same distance. HVDC requires less conductor per unit distance than an AC line, as there is no need to support three phases and there is no skin effect.
Depending on voltage level and construction details, HVDC transmission losses are quoted at 3.5% per 1,000 km (620 mi), about 50% less than AC (6.7%) lines at the same voltage. This is because direct current transfers only active power and thus causes lower losses than alternating current, which transfers both active and reactive power.
It looks like cost is a big factor.
My knowledge of grid systems and AC power is limited, as I was more of a Control Engineering and Electronics student at university.
But could HVDC-connected wind farms have advantages, when it comes to providing a reactive power capability to the grid, as I wrote about in Dogger Bank C In UK Offshore Wind First To Provide Reactive Power Capability.
Extra income is another good reason to choose something.
Lightweight Platforms
I’ve always been a fan of lightweight structures and it does seen that the engineers of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm have gone down that route.
This is a paragraph from the news item.
The platform will be controlled from shore and by removing the need for personnel to stay on the platform meant it has been possible to eliminate elements such as the living quarters, helideck and sewage systems, resulting in a 70% reduction in weight (per megawatt) of the topside compared to previous platforms installed, and cost savings of hundreds of millions of pounds.
Again costs are being reduced and profits increased.
We should never rule out the importance of the finances of a project. Once by simulating a chemical process on the computer for ICI, I knocked ten metres off the height of a chemical plant. I got a nice little bonus for that!
If they have made a substantial reduction in substation weight, this surely means that the supporting structure can probably be smaller and less costly.
Conclusion
I suspect, a lot more wind farms will follow the Dogger Bank example.
Seaway7 Installs Final Foundation At Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Seaway7 has installed the final wind turbine foundation on Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm, off the coast of Angus, Scotland, concluding the 18-month installation campaign.
Note.
- As 114 foundations have been installed in eighteen months or just over six installations in a month.
- According to Deepest Ever Fixed-Bottom Wind Turbine Foundation Stands Offshore Scotland, each foundation weighs two thousand tonnes.
- Some are also the deepest ever turbine foundations with a depth or is that height of nearly sixty metres.
- The Seagreen web site, says that phase 1 will be complete in the second quarter of this year.
- The first phase will generate 1075 MW.
We should raise a few cheers for the companies involved.
The Anonymous Widower 