GE’s Recently Unveiled 18 MW Wind Turbine To Spin Offshore Japan
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The three consortia that Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) selected in the country’s second round of offshore wind auctions will use some of the biggest and most powerful wind turbines on/coming to the market – Vestas V236-15 MW and GE’s 18 MW Haliade-X.
Wind farms under construction or in pre-construction in the UK, as I write this post, include.
- Neart Na Gaoithe – 8 MW x 54 – 450 MW
- Sofia Offshore Wind Farm – 14 MW x 100 – 1400 MW
- Dogger Bank A – 13 MW x 95 – 1235 MW
- Moray West – 15 MW x 60 – 882 MW
- Dogger Bank B – 13 MW x 95 – 1235 MW
- Dogger Bank C – 14 MW x 87 – 1218 MW
- East Anglia Three – 14 MW x 95 – 1372 MW
- Hornsea Three – xx MW x 231 – 2852 MW
Note.
- I can’t find the turbine size for Hornsea Three.
- This article on The Telgraph is entitled Ørsted Asks For More Government Cash Amid Doubts Over Flagship Wind Farm Project, says that Ørsted and Claire Coutinho are talking.
- The total power is 10644 MW.
- There are a total of 817 turbines.
- This is an average turbine size of almost exactly 13 MW.
There would appear to be scope to increase the size of these wind farms by using the new larger turbines.
Just uprating the turbines to 15 MW would increase capacity by 15 %.
The frequency of stories like these are increasing.
Crown Estate Mulls Adding 4 GW Of Capacity From Existing Offshore Wind Projects
Vattenfall Boosts Capacity For Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone
Three Steps To Unlocking The Potential Of High-Power Wind Turbines
Ossian Floating Wind Farm Could Have Capacity Of 3.6 GW
Developers are seriously thinking of building or upgrading wind farms with larger turbines and other capacity-increasing technology.
Floating Solar Not Yet Up to Par To Be Brought Into Offshore Wind Tenders, Says BP’s Benelux Head Of Offshore Wind
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
System integration is what is needed for the next leap in offshore wind, however, not all technologies that can integrate with offshore wind farms have the same starting point. Floating solar still has some way to go in becoming more resilient to harsh offshore conditions. On the other hand, hydrogen is a more ready option with plenty of support from the industry, but it needs to be included and clearly defined in offshore wind tenders.
These two paragraphs describe the views of Frank Oomen, Head of Offshore Wind Benelux at BP.
This is according to Frank Oomen, Head of Offshore Wind Benelux at BP, who discussed financial and qualitative criteria in offshore wind auctions during the Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference 2023 (OEEC 2023).
Speaking about recently joining BP from the renewables industry, Oomen pointed out that, with offshore wind becoming larger scale, it needs to move in the direction of system integration and become an integrated energy business itself.
I had a lot of my engineering education, in ICI’s world of integrated chemical plants and I believe that Frank Oomen’s views are heading in the right direction.
If we take Frank Oomen’s views to their logical conclusion, we will see the following.
- Clusters of wind farms far from land in productive wind power areas.
- A nearby electrolyser will be producing hydrogen.
- The hydrogen will be taken to the shore by pipeline or tanker.
- BP with their oil and gas heritage, have been doing this for decades.
BP might even have some redundant gas infrastructure they can repurpose.
Siemens Gamesa And Vestas Collaborate To Standardise Equipment For Transportation Of Wind Turbine Towers
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Building on a previous collaboration focused on tower foundations and lifting guidelines, Siemens Gamesa and Vestas, facilitated by Energy Cluster Denmark, have signed a new partnership agreement to increase standardisation within the wind industry.
Surely standard sizes and similar designs will help any industry. Look at how containerisation has helped freight transportation.
These four paragraphs illustrate the problem and detail the solution.
Initially, the partners will standardise equipment for the transportation of wind turbine towers.
“Currently, whenever a wind turbine tower is shipped out for offshore installation, the manufacturer welds a box onto the installation vessel to which the tower is then clamped. The process is costly in terms of tons of iron and labour on the quayside. Once installation offshore is completed, all the equipment is removed from the vessel, which is again costly in terms of hours, money and the green transition,” said Jesper Møller, Chief Engineer in Offshore Execution at Siemens Gamesa.
The new partnership agreement comprises a series of projects involving equipment for and the storage of huge components produced by wind turbine manufacturers.
The first project focuses on sea fastening, involving securing towers, blades, and nacelles to installation vessels.
The article finished with statements about why standardisation is important.
First German Zero-Subsidy Offshore Wind Farm Starts Taking Shape
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Offshore installation work has started at the 913 MW Borkum Riffgrund 3, the first subsidy-free offshore wind farm in Germany to reach this development phase, Ørsted, the developer of the project, said.
These two paragraphs introduce the project.
The first of the 83 monopile foundations have now been installed at the site some 53 kilometres off the island of Borkum in the German North Sea by Jan De Nul’s Lez Alizés.
The installation directly follows the foundation work in the adjacent 253 MW Gode Wind 3 project, which is being built in parallel by Ørsted in the North Sea.
Ørsted’s web site gives this history of Borkum Riffgrund 3.
Borkum Riffgrund 3 is expected to be fully commissioned in 2025. It comprises three offshore wind projects which were originally awarded to Ørsted in auctions in 2017 and 2018 under the names of Borkum Riffgrund West 1, Borkum Riffgrund West 2 and OWP West. The three projects were renamed in September 2019 and will be built as one joint project under the name of Borkum Riffgrund 3.
Borkum Riffgrund 3 was awarded without subsidies to Ørsted. A number of companies across IT, retail and the chemicals industry have signed corporate power purchase agreements for Borkum Riffgrund 3.
If Ørsted is doing this in Germany, how come, we are not seeing more subsidy-free wind farms in Europe?
These two paragraphs from the article give a partial explanation.
After commissioning in 2025, a large part of the electricity generated by the wind farm will be used for the decarbonization of the industry – through the so-called Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs). For the project, long-term power purchase agreements were concluded with the companies Covestro, Amazon, the Energie-Handels-Gesellschaft/REWE Group, as well as BASF and Google.
Shares for Borkum Riffgrund 3 were also sold to an institutional investor well before construction. In October 2021, Nuveen signed an agreement with Glennmont Partners to sell 50 percent of the shares in Borkum Riffgrund 3.
The article also states that Borkum Riffgrund 3 will be the largest offshore wind farm in Germany to date.
This Google Map shows the location of the German Borkum island to the North of the Dutch city of Groningen.
Note.
- Groningen is the city in the South-West corner of the map.
- Borkum is the horseshoe-shaped island at the top of the map.
There are a cluster of wind farms to the North of Borkum, which includes Borkum Riffgrund 1, 2 and 3.
BW Ideol, ABP To Explore Serial Production Of Floating Wind Foundations At Port Talbot
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
BW Ideol and Associated British Ports (ABP) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will see the manufacturer of concrete floating wind foundations and ABP investigating the feasibility of serial production at Port Talbot. The MOU has been signed in preparation for the Celtic Sea leasing round, BW Ideol said on Monday (11 December).
These two paragraphs outline the plans of BW Ideol and ABP have for Port Talbot.
According to the company, Port Talbot is the only Celtic Sea port with the scale and technical capabilities to fully maximise the Celtic Sea supply chain opportunity and is ideally located as a manufacturing base since it lies 120-140 kilometres from the floating offshore wind areas outlined by The Crown Estate for the upcoming leasing round.
The news on the MOU between ABP and BW Ideol comes shortly after ABP announced plans to invest around GBP 500 million (approximately EUR 573 million) to upgrade a site in Port Talbot and turn it into a major floating offshore wind hub.
This Google Map shows Port Talbot Port.
Note.
- It also looks like there is a Heidelberg Cement facility at the South side of the port.
- Port Talbot also has a Tata steelworks.
- The railway and the M4 Motorway are nearby.
- There’s certainly a lot of water.
The port appears well-placed for raw materials and there is quite a bit of free space to build and launch the concrete floaters.
This page on the BW Ideol web site describes their Floatgen demonstrator.
The first section is headed by BW Ideol’s First Floater In Operation, where this is said.
Built around a European consortium of 7 partners, Floatgen is a 2MW floating wind turbine demonstrator installed off the coast of Le Croisic on the offshore experimentation site of the Ecole Centrale de Nantes (SEM-REV). This project is being supported by the European Union as part of the FP7 programme. Floatgen is France’s first offshore wind turbine. 5 000 inhabitants are supplied with its electricity.
It looks like it is or almost is a proven system.
The page talks of two large benefits.
- Innovation at all levels.
- The highest local content of any floating wind turbine.
For the second, the following is said
In comparison to other steel floating foundations, which are imported from abroad, the use of concrete for BW Ideol’s floating foundation allows the construction to be located as close as possible to the deployment site. Construction at the Saint-Nazaire port was therefore a natural and optimal solution and has created a lot of local content. Additionally, the mooring system was manufactured by LeBéon Manufacturing in Brittany. For the majority of all other components or logistical activities, the Floatgen partners have also opted for suppliers within the Saint-Nazaire region.
Note.
- Will ABP and BW Ideol use a similar philosophy at Port Talbot?
- Will low-carbon concrete be used to construct the floaters?
I can certainly see the logic of BW Ideol and ABP getting together at Port Talbot.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners Takes FID On 1,000 MWh Battery Energy Storage Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
This is the sub-heading.
The battery energy storage system Coalburn 1 will be one of the largest battery storage projects in Europe. Construction has commenced in November 2023 and the project will be 500 MW / 1,000 MWh once complete.
These two paragraphs outline the project.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) through its Flagship Funds has taken final investment decision and commenced construction on a 500 MW / 1,000 MWh energy storage system in Coalburn, Scotland, which will be one of the largest of its kind in Europe.
The facility is the first project to be developed from the partnership between CIP and Alcemi to deploy 4 GW of energy storage assets across the UK. CIP aims to take final investment decision on two other projects next year with a combined capacity above 1 GW. The portfolio will provide vital support to the UK’s energy network, accelerating the integration of renewable energy and the transition to net zero by 2050.
Note.
- FID means final investment decision.
- 500 MW / 1,000 MWh could become a common size as it is two hours of power and easy for politicians to add up.
- CIP and Alcemi seem to be planning a total amount of energy storage, eight times bigger than Coalburn 1.
This battery could be the largest in the UK, when it is commissioned.
Who Are Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP)?
Their About CIP web page gives a lot of details.
Who Are Alcemi?
Their Who We Are web page gives a lot of details.
Environmental Considerations
The press release says this about environmental considerations.
The Coalburn 1 facility has been developed with extensive landscaping and ecological mitigation measures, including the maintenance of peat reserves, tree and wildflower planting, and new habitats, promoting biodiversity across the site.
I’ll agree with that, but add that I hope that they look after the hares. It will be interesting to see how big batteries and big bunnies co-exist. As co-exist they will!
Operation
The press release says this about operation.
The scheme will reduce the need for fossil fuel power generation during periods of peak demand leading to a decrease in CO2 emissions but also provide balancing services to help lower the costs for end consumers to manage the UK Power system.
As a Control Engineer, I suspect, it will act in a little-and-large mode with Scotland’s pumped storage.
Location
This page on the SP Energy Networks web site is entitled Coalburn Connection – South Lanarkshire.
There is this introductory paragraph.
SP Energy Networks own and maintain the electricity network in central and southern Scotland. As part of our infrastructure, Coalburn Grid Substation is a key installation in the transmission network situated to the south of Lesmahagow in South Lanarkshire.
Underneath is this map.
Note.
- The orange arrows are wind farms and there appear to be around a dozen of them.
- The blue arrow is Coalburn Grid Substation.
- Running through the area is the M74 between Glasgow and Carlisle.
- There are some remains of opencast coal-mines in the area, which have been restored and turned into wind farms.
- I have found the capacity of fourteen of the existing wind farms and it totals 946 MW, which is an average capacity for each wind farm of 67 MW.
- During my search for capacity, I found a couple of wind farms that were being upgraded with larger turbines.
- The SP Energy Networks page gives a date of Q3 2025 for connection of the Coalburn battery to the sub-station.
With the 500 MW/1000 MWh Coalburn 1 battery, I wouldn’t be surprised that this massive onshore wind farm complex has been designed to provide a guaranteed 1000 MW to the grid.
Crown Estate Details Round 5 Plans
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 revealed details of a new leasing round, known as Round 5, for three commercial-scale floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea.
These are the first two paragraphs, which outline the three initial projects.
Located off the coast of South Wales and South West England, the sites will have a combined capacity of up to 4.5 GW, enough to supply four million homes with renewable energy.
The new wind farms are expected to be the first phase of commercial development in the region, with the UK Government confirming as part of its Autumn Statement in November its intention to unlock space for up to a further 12 GW of capacity in the Celtic Sea.
It looks like there could be another 7.5 GW available.
These four paragraphs indicate that the Crown Estate. expect the developers to to develop the local infratructure.
New details about the Round 5 auction include upfront investment in important workstreams to de-risk the process for developers and accelerate the deployment of projects.
This includes a multi-million-pound programme of marine surveys to better understand the physical and environmental properties around the locations of the new wind farms, as well as carrying out a Plan-Level Habitats Regulations Assessment early on in the process.
An Information Memorandum published today, on 7th December, also includes details of a series of contractual commitments for developers to create positive social and environmental impacts, focused on skills and training, tackling inequalities in employment, environmental benefits, and working with local communities.
In addition, bidders will be required to demonstrate commitments for the timely access to the port infrastructure needed to develop their projects, the Crown Estate said.
But it also appears that the Crown Estate are doing their bit by carrying out marine surveys.
Conclusion
It looks like the Crown Estate are making thing easier for developers, so that they increase the interest in Celtic Sea wind farms.
We’ll see if the strategy is successful, when contracts are awarded.
Fashion Companies Pledge To Invest In Bangladesh First Offshore Wind Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Fashion companies, BESTSELLER and H&M Group have pledged to invest in the first utility-scale offshore wind project off the coast of Bangladesh, which is being developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) together with local partner Summit Power.
These four paragraphs give a lot more detail.
The announcement was made Tuesday at the ongoing COP28 in Dubai.
The 500 MW offshore wind project, which is in early-stage development, could significantly increase the availability of renewable energy in one of the fashion industry’s most important manufacturing countries, said the non-profit organisation Global Fashion Agenda (GFA).
More than 70 per cent of the fashion industry’s GHG emissions come from upstream activities and current operations predominantly rely on non-renewable energy sources, such as petroleum, gas, oil, and coal, said GFA.
To ensure and accelerate decarbonisation, GFA is advocating collective investments by fashion brands in new renewable energy generation.
This would appear to be one of those circular stories, where a lot of parties benefit.
- There will be less greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing in Bangladesh.
- Jobs will be created in the renewable energy industry in Bangladesh.
- The fashion industry gets product with a smaller carbon footprint.
- The fashion industry gets a safe investment for its spare cash, that improves their product.
It might also create an industry in Bangladesh, that makes steel structures for the world’s offshore wind industry.
But consider.
- As of June 2022, Bangladesh had 25.7 GW of electricity generation.
- Much of Bangladesh’s electricity is generated by gas.
- Bangladesh is aiming for a 7 % growth rate so will need a lot more electricity.
500 MW is literally a drop in the ocean.
This Goggle Map shows most of Bangladesh and the location of the wind farm, by Cox’s Bazar, which is marked by a red arrow.
I shall be interesting to see how this and other similar projects develop.
RWE’s Welsh Offshore Wind Project Powers Ahead
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Natural Resources Wales has awarded marine licences for RWE’s Awel y Môr offshore wind project off the North Wales Coast.
These two paragraphs outline the project.
The offshore wind farm, which could power more than half of Wales’ homes, has secured all of its necessary planning approvals with the award of its marine licences from Natural Resources Wales, RWE said.
The marine licences have been awarded on behalf of Welsh Government ministers following the granting of a Development Consent Order in September.
With all the wind action in the East, we tend to forget that the Liverpool Bay area has a lot of wind.
- Awel y Môr – 500 MW – Before 2030
- Barrow – 90 MW – 2006
- Burbo Bank – 90 MW – 2007
- Burbo Bank Extension – 258 MW – 2017
- Gwynt y Môr – 576 MW – 2015
- Mona – 1500 MW – 2029
- Morecambe – 480 MW – 2028
- Morgan – 1500 MW – 2029
- North Hoyle – 60 MW – 2003
- Ormonde – 150 MW – 2012
- Rhyl Flats – 90 MW – 2009
- Walney – 367 MW – 2010
- Walney Extension – 659 MW – 2018
- West Of Duddon Sands – 389 MW – 2014
Note.
- This is a total of 6709 MW to be delivered before 2030.
- All the wind farms have fixed foundations.
- RWE have an interest in three of the Welsh wind farms.
The Times today has this article which is entitled Energy Minnow Sees Pathway To Irish Sea Gasfield Via London IPO, where these are the first three paragraphs.
An energy minnow that is seeking to develop a gasfield in the Irish Sea is planning to list on Aim, the junior London stock exchange, in an attempt to buck the downturn in initial public offerings.
EnergyPathways has announced its intention to float, seeking to raise at least £2 million.
It owns the rights to Marram, a small gasfield discovered in 1993 about 20 miles offshore from Blackpool. It is seeking permission from the government for its plan to develop the field in the Irish Sea quickly by connecting it with existing infrastructure that serves the already-producing gasfields in Morecambe Bay. It aims to be producing gas as soon as 2025.
This gasfield should produce enough gas until the large Liverpool Bay wind farms come on stream at the end of the decade.
Masdar To Invest In Iberdrola’s 1.4 GW East Anglia Offshore Wind Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Iberdrola and Masdar have signed a strategic partnership agreement to evaluate the joint development of offshore wind and green hydrogen projects in Germany, the UK, and the US, which also includes an investment in Iberdrola’s 1.4 GW East Anglia 3 offshore wind project in the UK.
These first two paragraphs outline the del.
After the parties’ successful co-investment in the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in Germany, the new milestone of this alliance will be to achieve a further co-investment concerning the 1.4 GW East Anglia 3 offshore wind project in the UK, said the companies.
According to the partners, the deal has been under negotiation for the last few months and could be signed by the end of the first quarter of 2024. Masdar’s stake in the wind farm could be 49 per cent.
This deal appears to be very similar to Masdar’s deal with RWE, that I wrote about in RWE Partners With Masdar For 3 GW Dogger Bank South Offshore Wind Projects.
- The Iberdrola deal involves the 1.4 GW East Anglia 3 wind farm, which has a Contract for Difference at £37.35 £/MWh and is scheduled to be completed by 2026.
- The RWE deal involves the 3 GW Dogger Bank South wind farm, which doesn’t have a Contract for Difference and is scheduled to be completed by 2031.
- Both deals are done with wind farm developers, who have a long track record.
- Both wind farms are the latest to be built in mature clusters of wind farms, so there is a lot of production and maintenance data available.
I suspect, that many capable engineers and accountants can give an accurate prediction of the cash flow from these wind farms.
I will expect that we’ll see more deals like this, where high quality wind farms are sold to foreign energy companies with lots of money.
Just over five years ago, I wrote World’s Largest Wind Farm Attracts Huge Backing From Insurance Giant, which described how and why Aviva were investing in the Hornsea 1 wind farm.
Conclusion
It appears that Masdar are doing the same as Aviva and usind wind farms as a safe investment for lots of money.
The Anonymous Widower 